North Korea, readying itself to proclaim the dawn of the ‘Strong and Prosperous Nation’ at the beginning of 2012, is conducting preliminary screening of candidates for the annual amnesty of convicted felons. Currently, the People’s Safety Ministry is gathering data on those to be released.
Multiples sources from Pyongyang and South Hamgyung Province revealed the fact to the Daily NK today, with one saying, “We are facing the 100th birthday of the birth of the Suryeong so there will be an amnesty and we are selecting candidates for it. I hear that the list of the prisoners who will be amnestied is going to be submitted to the People’s Safety Ministry by December.”
A special amnesty takes place every year on the ‘Day of the Sun’, as Kim Il Sung’s birthday is known in North Korea. Some who are not released may also see their sentences reduced. The whole event is always proclaimed as being the result of Kim Jong Il’s care for his people, something intended to engender loyalty.
As next year sees the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth and the ‘Strong and Prosperous Nation’ alike, people are anticipating a much grander amnesty than in previous years.
As the selection process is now in train, the expectations of the families of prisoners are also growing, sources report, with many using every possible way to mobilize connections to lobby for the release of family or friends. However, sources also say they fear the blatant demands for bribery from camp cadres.
One source said, “The re-education camp heads are asking directly for 20,000 Yuan from the families of those prisoners.”
Yet the fact is that, in reality, heads of the camps have the power to document the ‘re-education’ level of any given prisoner and submit it to the Party. Given that the Party does not conduct any further review of cases, their word is the key to release and the families of prisoners have no choice but to bribe them heavily.
Elsewhere, the North Korean authorities are also said to be recalling persons released from prison for health reasons. In North Korea, it is possible for less serious criminals to apply to the authorities for the right to serve time outside the prison.
The source said, “Because the prisoners on sick leave defect more than others and cause social problems, General Kim Jong Eun has ordered them to be returned back to the re-education camps”.
Sources explain that every Monday or when an important incident happens in the province, these sick prisoners are ordinarily required to appear before the relevant authorities to confirm their location and non-involvement.
