AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

South Korean mathematician and prisoner of conscience Ahn Jae-ku, was arrested on 14 June 1994 by agents from the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) along with his son and approximately twenty-five others due to alleged pro-North Korean activities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 30 November 1994.

Ahn Jae-ku, formerly a professor at Kyuonghee University, was charged with establishing an "anti-state" organization, the National Front for the Salvation of the Fatherland, with the alleged purpose of spying for North Korea. Despite the prosecutor's call for the death penalty, Ahn Jae-ku was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was reportedly interrogated for twenty consecutive days following his arrest, at which time he was subjected to sleep deprivation and psychological pressure to sign a confession. Since that time, he has been held in harsh conditions that have contributed to his declining health. He is currently held at Taegu Prison and is only allowed two fifteen minute visits per month by family members.

President Kim Dae Jung recently announced a mass release of political prisoners to take place on 15 August, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation and the founding of the Seoul government. This may therefore be an opportune time to pressure South Korean authorities to assure that Professor Ahn Jae-ku is among those released.

The arrest and long-term imprisonment of Ahn Jae-ku constitute clear violations of international human rights standards, including the right to freedom of expression and to receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds; the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly; the rights to liberty and security of person, and to a prompt, fair and impartial hearing before an independent and impartial judicial tribunal; the right to be free from torture or cruel and degrading treatment or punishment; and the right and opportunity to freely take part in public affairs and political life.

(Source of information for this update is the Committee of Concerned Scientists. Previous sources of information include Amnesty International and MINKAHYUP Human Rights Group in Seoul.)

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telexes, telegrams, faxes, or airmail letters:

• Calling on Korean officials to release Ahn Jae-ku immediately and unconditionally on the grounds that he is a prisoner of conscience; and
• urging that his treatment while he remains in prison conform to international standards for the treatment of prisoners.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

His Excellency Kim Dae Jung
President, Republic of Korea
The Blue House
1 Sejong-no, Chongno-gu
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Salutation: Your Excellency:

His Excellency Kim Chong-ku
Minister of Justice
1 Chungang-dong
Kwachon-myon, Shihung-gun
Kyongii Province, Republic of Korea
Salutation: Your Excellency:

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