Paris-Geneva, June 1, 2017 - South
Korean authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Korean
Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) President Mr. Han Sang-gyun, the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT
partnership) said today.

On May 31,
2017, South Korea's Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals' conviction of
Mr. Han Sang-gyun and sentenced him
to three years in prison in connection with a demonstration organised by KCTU
in November 2015.
“Han
Sang-gyun is being detained for the peaceful
exercise of his rights. The decision of the Supreme Court is extremely
disappointing all the more as it disregards South Korea’s obligations under international
law and an Opinion recently adopted by a group of UN experts”, the
Observatory said.
On April 25,
2017, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found
that Mr. Han Sang-gyun’s
deprivation of liberty was arbitrary as it resulted from the exercise of his
right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The WGAD
called on the South Korean authorities to immediately release Mr. Han, and
award him “compensation and other reparations” for the deprivation of liberty
to which he has been subjected.
On July 4,
2016, Mr. Han Sang-gyun was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 500,000
Won (approximately 400 Euros) in connection with a demonstration organized by
KCTU against proposed labour reforms in Seoul on November 14, 2015. During the
rally, police used excessive force to disperse demonstrators. Authorities had
previously issued arrest warrants against Han for his participation in peaceful
demonstrations that had taken place in April and May 2015 to express solidarity
with the victims of the Sewol Ferry disaster in April 2014. On December 13,
2016, a Court of Appeals reduced Mr. Han’s sentence to three years in prison.
“The South
Korean Government must implement UN WGAD’s Opinion and end Han Sang-gyun’s
arbitrary detention. The failure to release Han Sang-gyun is a missed
opportunity for President Moon Jae-in to burnish his human rights credentials”,
the Observatory concluded.
The
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was
created in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this programme is to prevent
or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and
OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights
Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
For more information, please contact:
• FIDH: Samuel Hanryon (French, English):
+33 6 72 28 42 94 (Paris) / Andrea Giorgetta (English): Tel: +66886117722
(Bangkok)
• OMCT: Delphine Reculeau (French, English): +41 22 809 49 39
(Geneva)
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