South Korea: Appeal on behalf of Ham Ju-myong

AI is concerned about Ham Ju-myong, who is serving a life sentence for alleged espionage on behalf of North Korea. Ham Ju-myong moved to South Korea during the Korean War. He was kept under surveillance until 1968, when he was informed that surveillance would be lifted. On 18 February 1983 he was arrested and charged with passing information to and receiving payment from North Korea; he was convicted and sentenced in May 1984. He claims that he was severely tortured for some 60 days after his arrest and forced to sign a confession. He denied the charges during his trial; several friends were allegedly intimidated into testifying against him. His wife saw him for the first time three months after his arrest and reported seeing signs of ill-treatment.

Choose a language to view report

Download PDF