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| ▲ This file photo, taken Feb. 22, 2016, shows North Korean defector Choi Min-kyung sharing her experience at a North Korean detention facility at a North Korean human rights conference in London. (Yonhap) |
NK defector-lawsuit
N. Korean defector to file lawsuits in S. Korea against Kim Jong-un over human rights crimes
SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean defector in South Korea plans to file a lawsuit and a criminal complaint against North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un over human rights violations this week, a civic group said Wednesday.
The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) said it would file the civil suit to the Seoul Central District Court and a criminal complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Friday on behalf of Choi Min-kyung.
Choi, who fled North Korea to China in 1997, was forcibly repatriated back in 2008.
After her repatriation, she said she suffered human rights violations, including sexual abuse, physical violence and torture, at a North Korean detention facility in the northeastern county of Onsong.
Choi plans to file the complaint against Kim and four others, including officials at the ministry of state security, on charges of international criminal law violations.
"I hope this legal action serves as an opportunity to bring about attention in South Korea and overseas to North Korean human rights problems," she said.
The NKDB said the move would mark the first lawsuit by a North Korea-born human rights victim, adding that it plans to take further steps at the U.N. human rights body and the International Criminal Court.
Choi ultimately fled to South Korea and currently heads a group of family members of victims of detention in North Korea.
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