North Korea Sentences Canadian Priest to Life Imprisonment with Hard Labor
A Canadian priest has been sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor on charges of propaganda and conspiracy against North Korea’s security.
According to reports from North Korean media outlets, on Wednesday, December 16, the Supreme Court of North Korea found Hyeon Sun-lim, a Canadian priest, guilty following a swift trial on charges of attempted action against state security and conspiracy to overthrow the country’s political system, and sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labor.
Mr. Hyeon, who was a pastor of a Presbyterian church in Toronto, was arrested in North Korea in February of this year and has been imprisoned since then.
According to church officials, Priest Hyeon Sun-lim has traveled to North Korea more than one hundred times since 1979 to carry out humanitarian missions. However, news of his arrest was released in March of this year. According to this report, among the achievements of his trips to North Korea were assistance in establishing several employment-generating economic units including rope-making factories, wig manufacturing plants, a gas station, a farm, and fishing facilities.
The North Korean government has strict laws and regulations regarding religious and missionary activities and does not tolerate such actions as attempts to weaken the government’s absolute sovereignty. In this country, even placing a copy of the Bible in public places is considered Christian propaganda and can lead to arrest and punishment.
Image copyrightAPImage captionOn Wednesday morning, Hyeon was transferred to court to undergo a “swift trial” and receive his sentence
In North Korea, obtaining and broadcasting confessions of “political criminals” is common practice, and in July of this year, the country’s television broadcast Mr. Hyeon’s confessions in which he admitted to all the charges against him. According to North Korean sources, the charges against this Canadian priest were “actions to overthrow the social and political system of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea under the guise of humanitarian activities and gathering information for use in his sermons abroad.” He was also accused of attempting to establish a religious organization in order to “deceive and abduct North Korean people.” Apparently, the reference to abducting North Korean citizens meant helping them escape their country.
Mr. Hyeon also stated in his confessions that he had connections with the governments of the United States and Canada.
In North Korea, public confessions by detained persons to various serious political charges are common practice and are used as the basis for their trial and conviction. Human rights advocates consider such confessions to be the result of physical and psychological torture of the accused, and legal experts have described court rulings issued on this basis as invalid. Foreign nationals who have been arrested and subsequently released in North Korea have stated that they were forced under pressure to make false confessions against themselves.
Hyeon Sun-lim became a Canadian citizen in 1986. The Canadian government has expressed serious concern about his arrest and has demanded consular access to him. Canada suspended its diplomatic relations with North Korea in 2010 and currently maintains a protecting power office in the country.
