donderdag, maart 18, 2004
A South Korean photojournalist jailed for documenting the plight of North Korean refugees travelling through China after fleeing famine and oppression is to be released, diplomats say. "I can confirm this, Seok Jae-Hyun will be released tomorrow and he will return to South Korea on a Korean Air flight tomorrow afternoon," a spokesman from the South Korean embassy in Beijing told AFP.
Seok, who has worked for the New York Times, was arrested on January 18 last year while covering an attempted operation to evacuate North Korean refugees from China to South Korea and Japan. The photographer was sentenced on May 22, 2003 to two years in prison for "trafficking in persons."
China has signed an agreement with North Korea that obliges it to send any illegal immigrants back to the Stalinist state and has refused to recognize that the immigrants are either economic or political refugees seeking to survive outside their homeland.
"Press freedom groups Reporters Without Borders and Resolution 217 welcome news of the imminent release of South Korean photographer Seok Jae-Hyun with great joy," the two groups said in a joint statement.
Bron: AFP.
Seok, who has worked for the New York Times, was arrested on January 18 last year while covering an attempted operation to evacuate North Korean refugees from China to South Korea and Japan. The photographer was sentenced on May 22, 2003 to two years in prison for "trafficking in persons."
China has signed an agreement with North Korea that obliges it to send any illegal immigrants back to the Stalinist state and has refused to recognize that the immigrants are either economic or political refugees seeking to survive outside their homeland.
"Press freedom groups Reporters Without Borders and Resolution 217 welcome news of the imminent release of South Korean photographer Seok Jae-Hyun with great joy," the two groups said in a joint statement.
Bron: AFP.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 08:45
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