In late November, two North Korean university students in Nampo received a public trial for watching illegal South Korean movies and were sentenced to 15 years in prison, Daily NK has learned.
A Daily NK source in South Pyongan Province said Tuesday that two students at the Nampo University of Education, both of whom are in their 20s, “were given a public trial in a stadium late last month for violating the law to eradicate reactionary thought and culture.”
According to the source, the trial was held in front of about 500 university students.
With the trial marking the second anniversary of the enactment of the law to eradicate reactionary thought and culture (officially known as the DPRK Law Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture), the head of the city branch of the Ministry of Social Security and other cadres took direct part in the trial, too.
Classmates in the same year as the accused individuals, along with other students from the university, reportedly stood lined up in the front row during the public trial.
The source said the two students had been handed over for trial after undergoing a six-month preliminary examination (the entire process of interrogation and investigation leading up to the indictment) following their arrest in late May on charges of watching South Korean movies and televised singing contests, as well as distributing the materials.
“Since they experienced such a long interrogation and investigation process, they appeared thin and tired at their public trial,” he said.
At the trial, the students were accused of “closing their doors and watching South Korean videos while the rest of the country was waging a desperate struggle against the [COVID-19] virus.”
COURT TAKES ISSUE WITH THE IDEOLOGICAL CONVICTIONS OF THE STUDENTS
Their accusers noted that at the time of their alleged offense, North Korea had enacted its maximum emergency epidemic control system to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak, with even universities suspending classes and students going into home quarantine.
The court claimed the students watched a film that depicted North Korean police and South Korea’s national intelligence agency coming together to investigate a case and overcome other difficulties.
It took issue with the students’ ideological convictions, accusing them of criticizing the North Korean police in the film and supporting and laughing at the South Korean “puppet clique.”
Moreover, the students were accused of distributing the illegal videos to other classmates on USB cards.
Condemning many young people for allegedly becoming “stranglers in the revolution, caught up in momentary complacency and pleasure, rather than protecting the socialist system when the nation is struggling,” the court sharply criticized families and society for failing to properly educate the youth.
The source said the two students were ultimately sentenced to 15 years.
“Many people reacted to the sight of them stooping their heads low and trembling with frustration and regret, wondering why [the students] had watched something they could’ve avoided,” he added.
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