South Korea: Imprisonment of human rights activist

URGENT ACTION - THE OBSERVATORY
                                             KOR 001/ 9906 / OBS O43
                                           Threat of Prison Sentence
                                                         SOUTH KOREA
                                                      28th June 1999

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint 
FIDH and OMCT programme, requests your urgent intervention in the 
following situation in South Korea.

Description of the events

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has been 
informed of the threat of imprisonment of  Mr Suh Joon-shik, (50 years 
old) a prominent human rights activist and currently director of 
Sarangbang Centre for Human Rights.

According to the information received, Mr  Suh Joon-shik , was 
originally arrested on 4th November 1997 on charges relating to the 
screening of a film called Red Hunt during a human rights film  festival. 
The authorities have claimed that the screening constituted a violation 
of the National Security Law. The film documents the massacre on 
Cheju Island in 1948 (see appeal KOR 001 /9801/OBS 005). Following 
detention in Youngdungpo Detention Centre he was released on bail in 
February 1998.

Mr  Suh Joon-shik was originally charged with five offences,  three of 
which have now been dropped. The outstanding charges are as follows
He is charged with violating the Security Supervision Law - the Security 
Supervision Law required Mr  Suh Joon-shik to report to the police every 
month, which he failed to do (the constitutionality of this law is being 
challenged in the Constitutional Courts and will come to trial later this 
year). The other charge relates to trespass  - Dong Guk University, where 
the Film Festival was held, did not agree to allow the screening of human 
rights films on its premises. However the University testified during the 
trial that it had no interest in pressing charges for trespass.

The prosecution has called for a five year sentence and there are strong 
grounds for fearing that Mr. Suh Joon-shik will face a prison sentence.

The Observatory has serious grounds to beleive that the arrest, trial and 
potential imprisonment of Mr. Suh Joon-shik are motivated by his work 
as a human rights defender and his critisism of the government's 
conduct and policy on human rights in South Korea - work conforming 
to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international 
Conventions ratified by South Korea.

The use of national security laws as a means to undermine human rights 
activists by the authorities has been the subject of considerable criticism 
by national regional and international human rights organisations.

Action Requested

Please write to the South Korean authorities urging them to

i.-	drop all the charges against M. Suh Joon-shik

ii.-take the necessary measures to guarantee human rights 
    organisations the appropriate conditions for the free exercise of 
    their activities in defence of Human rights and fundamental 
    freedoms;

iii.-abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of 
    Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9th of December 1998, 
    by the U.N. General Assembly (Declaration on the right and 
    responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to 
    promote and protect universally recognized human rights and 
    fundamental freedoms), particularly, Article 1 which mandates 
    that "everyone has the right, individually and in association 
    with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and 
    realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the 
    national and international levels and article 6 b " Everyone has 
    the rights [...] freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others 
    views, information and knowledge or all human rights and 
    fundamentals freedoms 

iv.-more generally abide by the Universal Declaration on Human 
    Rights and Covenants and Conventions ratified by South Korea 
    , as well as international human rights standards.

Addresses

President Kim Yung-sam, The Blue House, 1 Sejong-no, Chongno-gu, 
Seoul, Republic of Korea. Fax+ 822 770 0253 or (+ 882 720 2686 via 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Mr Ahn Woo-man, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 1  Chungang-
dong, Kwachon-myon, Shihung-gun, Kyonggi-do, Republic of Korea. 
Fax+ 822 504 3337

Director, Military Security Command, Ministry of National Defence, 3-1 
Youngsan-dong, Yongsan-ku, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Fax+ 822 720 
2686 (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Geneva - Paris 28th June 1999

The Human Rights Action Network, a project of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.