Punishment Chambers

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The political prisoners in the detention settlements are sent to punishment cells if they fail to meet daily work quotas, steal corn, or show a less-than-subservient attitude. They are only allowed to go outdoors and get sunlight once a week for 30 minutes. The prisoners, whether male or female, have their hair cut short and must survive on a daily ration of 100 grams of corn cooked with beans and a small bowl of salt soup. The ration is often reduced for minor offenses. So, the prisoners often use their 30 minutes in the sun to eat as much grass or weeds as they can. If they are caught, however, they are beaten by the guards, often to death.

I was able to watch the prisoners leaving and entering the jail from the guard battalion headquarters building. Most of them crawled. Their clothes were full of blood stains and pus from injuries all over. They were full of lice and smelled awful. During the 30 minutes, they were usually busy killing lice and sucking their thumbs wet with lice blood. Whenever possible, they picked up grass and swallowed without chewing. They had been reduced to beasts.

On one occasion, I saw an old prisoner caught eating grass. The guard hit his chin hard with the handle of his AK 58 gun and shouted, “You dirty old dog!” When the prisoner bent down while holding his bleeding mouth, the guard hit him on his back. He fell to the ground. The guard kicked his head very hard, but the prisoner remained motionless. Blood poured out from his nose and mouth. The other prisoners were ordered to return to their cells. Most of them could not walk. They simply crawled. There were a few guys who could walk, obviously newcomers. Those who could walk were helping others move back to their cells.

A little later, I saw the same guard and chief jail officer checking the prisoner’s pulse. They confirmed his death. They rolled the body in a straw mat and loaded it onto a small truck that went in the direction of Namsok district, the secret killing field in the steep mountain areas.

After the incident, I saw the same guard on the same duty. He was never punished for killing the prisoner.