Inhumanity Unveiled: North Korean Family Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Possessing a Bible

 According to the International Religious Freedom Report, an entire family, including a two-year-old child, has been handed a life imprisonment sentence due to the discovery of a Bible in their possession. The report, released by the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2022, sheds light on the oppressive measures taken by the regime against individuals with religious beliefs.

A non-governmental organization (NGO) estimates that a staggering 50,000 to 70,000 North Korean citizens have been incarcerated simply for identifying as Christians. The report highlights the case of a two-year-old child who received a life sentence after their parents were found in possession of a Bible. The family was apprehended based on their religious practices and the mere presence of a Bible. In 2009, they were sentenced to life imprisonment in a political prison camp.

Former detainees, particularly Christians, have recounted appalling conditions and various forms of physical mistreatment within these camps. The report specifically attributes 90% of documented human rights abuses against Christians and Shamanic adherents to the Ministry of State Security.

Citing a report by Korea Future, a non-profit organization striving for justice and accountability in North Korea, the State Department emphasizes that the North Korean government relentlessly persecutes individuals involved in religious practices, possession of religious items, contact with religious figures, or sharing religious beliefs. Persecuted individuals face arrest, detention, forced labor, torture, unfair trials, deportation, denial of the right to life, and sexual violence.

In December 2021, Korea Future published a report focusing on the abuse of religious freedom endured by women in North Korea. The report drew from interviews with 151 Christian women who had experienced such abuse. Arbitrary detention, torture, deportation, forced labor, and sexual violence emerged as the most prevalent forms of mistreatment documented in the report.