Rights groups call for release of Moroccan man at immigration detention center

Members of migrants' rights groups hold a press conference in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea office in Seoul, Sept. 29, denouncing the human rights violations at Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon

By Lee Hyo-jin

Migrants' rights groups here are calling for the immediate release of a Moroccan man held in an immigration detention center, whose human rights have been violated due to excessive use of force by officers.

The Ministry of Justice announced, Monday, the results of its investigation confirming the occurrence of human rights violations at Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province between March 23 and Sept. 1.

Earlier in September, the Moroccan man in his 30s filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, claiming that he has been subject to inhumane treatment since he was sent to the center in March.

Following physical conflicts with officers, the man was tied up and left in solitary confinement multiple times.

Surveillance footage of the cell showed him lying on his stomach with his arms and legs bound with rope behind his back, leaving him unable to move around the room. His head was covered in protective headgear fastened with box tape and cable ties.

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"Through an investigation, we found that the use of equipment, such as box tape and cable ties used on the detainee, did not have legal grounds," a ministry official said at a briefing, Monday. But he noted that putting the man under isolation was authorized as he had displayed violent behavior.

The ministry viewed the reasons for this mistreatment to be the officers' reported lack of understanding of the use of protective gear, as wells as a lack of other means to deter violence by the detainees. It vowed to come up with preventive measures including providing the officers with education on the use of protective gear.

However, the victim's legal representatives and migrant rights groups claimed the ministry did not investigate thoroughly, and demanded the detainee's immediate release as he requires urgent medical treatment.

Korea Immigration Service Commissioner Lee Jae-yoo speaks during a briefing in Seoul, Monday, on the investigation results of human rights violations occurring at Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap

"The investigation was carried out poorly overall. We were not informed about any of the proceedings until Oct. 26, when the officials requested a meeting to notify us about the results of the investigation," Lee Han-jae, a lawyer at Duroo Association for Public Interest Law, told The Korea Times.

Following Lee's protest that the officials did not provide the victim with an opportunity to give a statement, the officials interviewed the detainee on Oct. 28.

"The victim clearly stated that he was tied up in the position five times, but such claims were not included in the investigation report announced Monday. It did not include specific information of when, where and how the human rights violations took place."

Lee also insisted that the detainee should be released immediately. "He was already suffering from mental illness before he entered the detention center, but his condition deeply worsened following the torture-like incidents which left him with serious trauma."

A coalition of migrants' rights groups issued a statement urging the authorities to offer an apology to the victim and introduce proper measures to prevent further human rights violations.

"Many of the detainees at the center are still deprived of basic rights and access to medical care. The ministry needs to introduce fundamental measures to rectify this situation," they said.

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