Park No-hae, a 35-year-old poet and alleged leader of Sanomaeng (Socialist Workers’ League) is serving a life sentence under the National Security Law for alleged “anti-state” activities. He was arrested on 10 March 1991 and interrogated for 20 days, during which he claims he was beaten and denied sleep. He allegedly attempted suicide as a result of the beatings. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture raised his case with the South Korean Government in August 1991 but no independent investigation into the complaints of torture appears to have been conducted. Sanomaeng is alleged by the government to be an “anti-state” group with links to North Korea; this is denied by its members. Since September 1990 some 180 of its members have been arrested.
