[단독] Reuse of disposable injection needles… Inmates Human Rights Closed by Ministry of Justice

It was revealed that the Ministry of Justice, which is being criticized for the spread of Corona 19 from the eastern detention center in Seoul, received a remedy recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission for the reuse of disposable injection needles in prisons. With 1,205 confirmed cases of Corona 19 in correctional facilities (three dead), criticism is raised that Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae neglected to protect’health and human rights’ of prisoners.

According to the ‘2020 Complaint Investigation Status’ submitted by the Human Rights Commission by Kim Do-eup, a member of the National Assembly’s Legislative Judicial Committee on the 7th, the Ministry of Justice on November 2 last year in connection with a complaint about the violation of health rights due to reuse of disposable injection needles in prison He recommended remedies to his back. In the prison, the authorities used medical supplies that had to be used and discarded several times for inmates.

Last year, a complaint was filed with the Human Rights Commission that “the authorities violated the health rights of prisoners.” The Human Rights Commission found that there was a problem with the prison’s health practice as a result of the investigation. In November of the same year, the Human Rights Commission advised the Minister of “Chief A to take institutional measures and check the use of disposable medical supplies in prisons nationwide to come up with measures to prevent recurrence.” The head of prison A recommended “reconfirm the use and storage methods of medicines, conduct job training for inmates in charge of drug management,” and “do thorough supervision to ensure that disposable medical supplies are not reused.”

It is also noteworthy that it was in early November last year that the Human Rights Commission decided on its recommendation. The first confirmed case of Corona 19 (employee’s family) occurred in the eastern detention center on November 27 last year, and the number of confirmed cases in the detention center has increased sharply since. Although the NHRCK’s recommendations were limited to the’disposable medical supplies’ of’prisons’ nationwide, it seems that the current situation could have been prevented if the Ministry of Justice received this recommendation quickly and expanded it to the use of masks in detention centers and other detention centers nationwide.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that there was also a lack of medical response to persons with disabilities imprisoned in prison. In September last year, the Human Rights Commission cited a complaint about insufficient medical measures for the disabled in prisons. The Human Rights Commission will receive answers from Minister Chu, the head of the prison, and Hwang Hee-cheol, the chairman of the Korean Bar Association Legal Aid Foundation, as to whether or not to implement the recommended measures.

Including this, the Human Rights Commission made 18 recommendations to the Ministry of Justice last year, of which eight were filed during the time of the post of Minister Chu. In the process of investigating the case of sexual violence that is sensitive to the victim, there have been cases in which the victim’s human rights were violated. Mr. B, a victim of sexual violence, filed a complaint last year saying, “In the investigation of sexual violence damage, personal rights and privacy were violated due to insufficient separation measures.” After investigating this, the Human Rights Commission accepted Mr. B’s claim. In September of last year, the Human Rights Commission recommended that “when conducting investigations into sexual harassment and sexual violence incidents within correctional institutions, prepare and implement guidelines for investigating relevant persons in an independent space to ensure the confidentiality and freedom of defense and privacy.”

There have also been cases in which prison guards urged prisoners to “withdraw petition for complaint”. Mr. C, the prisoner, filed a complaint stating that “the prison guards demanded withdrawal and harassed him by forcing him to fill out relevant documents.” The Human Rights Commission recommended the Ministry of Justice to discipline the prisoners concerned. In addition, he told Minister Chu, “Preach the case so that the rights of prisoners who filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission are not restricted again.”

There are criticisms that he neglected the protection of human rights by the correctional authorities as he was devoted to the offensive against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol for one year in office. Rep. Kim Do-eup said, “At the time of his inauguration, Minister Chu said that he would realize the values ​​of human rights in correction, and pushed for’prosecution reform’ with human rights as the cause.” But at the correctional facility where he is in charge of management, there are 1,200 corona19 confirmed He criticized that he had neglected the protection of human rights because he was immersed in’Ejecting Yoon Seok-yeol’. Minister Chu said in his inauguration address in January last year, “The Minister of Justice has the ultimate responsibility for prosecution, correction and crime prevention, human rights advocacy, immigration, and other legal affairs.” He said, “We will conduct legal administration where the rule of law is implemented in the field.”

Meanwhile, Mr. D, a man in his 70s, who was being held in the Dongbu detention center that day, died after being confirmed. Mr. D suffered breathing difficulties this morning and was taken to the hospital, but died. He is said to have had underlying diseases such as high blood pressure. After the outbreak of the eastern detention center, a total of three people, including Mr. D, died in the correctional facility. The Ministry of Justice announced that the cumulative number of confirmed correctional facilities nationwide as of 9 am on the day was 1205 (including prisoners, 42 employees, and 1163 prisoners), an increase of 2 from the previous day.

[이윤식 기자 / 류영욱 기자]
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