A/HRC/31/38 IV. Overview of the situation of human rights A. Rights to life, liberty and security of the person 18. During the period under review, OHCHR received reports of executions, apparently amounting to arbitrary executions. The Criminal Code of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea prescribes the death penalty for a wide range of offences, as do, reportedly, several promulgations and instructions issued by the political leadership. 19. In May 2015, the then Minister of Defence, Hyon Yong Choi, was reported to have been executed for alleged treason. In August, it was reported that Vice Premier, Choe Yong Gon, had been executed in May 2015 for expressing disagreement with the Supreme Leader over the forestation policy. Owing to the lack of information on those executions and the use of capital punishment in general, it is extremely difficult to verify such reports. 20. Reports that particularly cruel methods, including anti-aircraft guns, are used to carry out executions raise additional serious concerns. In April 2015, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, an NGO based in Washington, D.C., released satellite images allegedly showing the execution in October 2014 of several officers by anti-aircraft machine guns.3 21. The Korea Institute for National Unification has noted a remarkable rise over the past few years in the use of the death penalty in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for watching or distributing videos from the Republic of Korea and for smuggling or trafficking narcotics.4 OHCHR received reports that three women were executed in August 2015 in Hyesan City, Ryanggang Province, allegedly for using their mobile phones to watch and distribute soap operas from the Republic of Korea. The executions were allegedly carried out to set an example and deter the viewing of foreign materials, which are considered to be illegal. Although that was an extreme case, it was reportedly part of a trend towards harsher punishments for those illegally accessing news sources and other foreign materials. 22. Large political prison camps appear to remain in operation in at least four locations.5 There were credible reports of poor conditions in political prisons and other places of detention and imprisonment. Conditions were reportedly particularly severe in temporary detention centres where suspects were allegedly held at the early stage of their arrest. Some victims reported to OHCHR that they were forced to sit in a restricted position for hours and threatened with physical punishment if they moved. They also reported that access to food was grossly insufficient, with many detainees depending for their survival on their relatives bringing food. Former detainees also reported a lack of access to independent lawyers. 23. Moreover, ill-treatment and torture is reportedly routinely used during the initial interrogation stage, apparently with the aim of obtaining a confession that conforms to the authorities’ version of events. Information gathered by OHCHR from various sources referred to cases of beating and kicking, sleep deprivation and verbal abuse. Cases were also reported of solitary confinement for several days in a cell so small that the detainee was unable to sit down. 3 4 5 See www.hrnkinsider.org/2015/04/unusual-activity-at-kanggon-military.html. Korea Institute for National Unification, White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2015, p. 16. Available at www.kinu.or.kr/eng/pub/pub_04_01.jsp. See www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Hawk_HiddenGulag4_FINAL.pdf. 5