Indian man files petition to S. Korean rights watchdog for physical abuse during deportation
Summary
An Indian man petitioned South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission over alleged physical abuse during his deportation from Hwaseong on Aug. 27. He said immigration officials duct-taped his mouth, hit his cheek and choked him at the airport. The man had been detained for about eight months, and body-camera footage showed an officer appearing to grab his neck. Acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo acknowledged that taping his mouth was clearly wrong.
Key Facts
- The man was held at an immigration detention center in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, for approximately eight months before deportation.
- South Korean immigration law allows foreigners facing deportation to remain in such facilities for up to nine months.
- Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party shared body-camera footage provided by the Justice Ministry during a parliamentary audit.
- The petition alleged violations of the man’s bodily freedom and human dignity during his deportation.
- The footage showed the man saying he would not resist and would leave voluntarily before an officer appeared to grab his neck and told him to stop talking.
The building of the National Human Rights Commission in Seoul. Hankookilbo
An Indian man has filed a petition to the South Korean human rights watchdog alleging physical abuse during his deportation, such as being duct taped in the mouth and choked by immigration authorities.
The Indian national submitted the petition to the National Human Rights Commission last Friday over violations to his bodily freedom and human dignity during his deportation on Aug. 27.
According to the petition, the man had been detained at an immigration holding center in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, for about eight months before officials forcibly removed him from the site.
Under immigration law, foreigners subject to deportation can stay at such facilities for up to nine months.
The petition said the man was handcuffed with duct tape around his mouth, with the man saying he suffered physical abuse, such as being hit in the cheek and being choked after he arrived at the airport to be deported.
Rep. Park Eun-jung of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party shared body cam footage submitted by the justice ministry on the deportation during a parliamentary audit of the ministry Thursday.
The footage showed the man saying he would not fight and go on his own, while an officer appeared to grab his neck and told him to stop talking
In response to the footage, acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo acknowledged that it was "clearly wrong" to wrap duct tape on his mouth.
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