Seoul Dongbu Detention Center. yunhap news
On the 6th of last month, four inmates in the Seoul East Detention Center filed a lawsuit against the government for damages. All of them were confirmed as Corona 19 at the Eastern Detention Center. This is the first case of filing a lawsuit for the collective infection of COVID-19 inside a correctional facility. They claimed that they were infected with Corona 19 because they were not able to deal with infectious diseases such as providing masks to detention centers and quarantining confirmed patients. When the first lawsuit was filed, similar lawsuits followed. At the end of last month, lawyer Park Jin-sik, who filed a lawsuit for compensation against the state on behalf of 33 confirmed corona 19 inmates and their families, said in a conversation with “Even though the first confirmed cases of the Dongbu Detention Center occurred on November 27 last year, the full investigation It only took place on December 18th,” he revealed the background of the lawsuit. Inmates’ lawsuits are receiving new attention due to the COVID-19 group infection in correctional facilities. It seems difficult for those who have been imprisoned for their physical freedom to file a lawsuit, but lawsuits against inmates against the government and correctional facilities have been steadily filed for various reasons.
On the afternoon of December 29, last year, at the Dongbu Detention Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, a prisoner is listening to reporters by writing down complaints such as overcrowding of confirmed cases. yunhap news
■ Consistent ruling that “denial inmate violates basic rights of inmates”
One of the most common lawsuits is a lawsuit for damages caused by confinement. Those who filed the lawsuit claim that the number of prisoners in correctional facilities exceeded the standard, and that they could not live a minimum of human life. According to the Ministry of Justice’s 2019 announcement, from 2011 to 2019 (as of November), there were 61 lawsuits related to overcrowding of inmates. At the time, the Ministry of Justice said, “31 cases were withdrawn or dismissed and 30 cases were in progress.” Regarding the issue of overcrowding, the Constitutional Court and the court believe that concentration has infringed on the basic rights of inmates. In 2016, the Constitution unanimously decided by the judges, “The act of inclusion in an overcrowded space that cannot maintain the minimum dignity as a human violates the Constitution by violating human dignity and values.” This constitutional petition was filed by Kang Amugae, who was imprisoned in the Seoul Detention Center after participating in a condemnation rally for irregular workers in 2012. The room where Kang stayed was an average of 1.3m2 (approximately 0.4 pyeong) per person. It is said that adult men are so narrow that they cannot reach all their feet no matter how they lie down. Heonjae said, “In this case where even the minimum space necessary for a basic human life was not secured, there is a high possibility that he experienced severe pain such as deteriorating physical and mental health.” “In the correctional facility, at least 2.58㎡ per prisoner was accommodated. The area must be secured within a significant period (5 to 7 years at the latest).” When such a constitutional decision was made, courts at the front line also issued a series of rulings acknowledging the national liability for overcrowding. In 2017, the Busan High Court ruled some of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit for compensation for damages filed by Mr. B and Mr. B held in the Busan Detention Center. The judge said, “The correctional facilities were overcrowded in a narrow space, so the plaintiffs were unable to protect their privacy and had to suffer mental and physical pain, such as not being able to secure enough space for a good night’s sleep,” said Mr. B with 1.5 million won and Mr. B with 3 million won. He ruled in compensation. In 2018, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the state pay 1 million won in a lawsuit filed by Mr. C, who was imprisoned in Incheon detention center, and in 2019 the same court ruled that the state pay 4 million won to Mr. C, who was imprisoned in the Seoul detention center. Etc. recognized the responsibility of the state.
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■’Dental treatment costs are different’ and’The screens block sunlight’ various reasons for lawsuits
It was only after Shin Amugae, who was serving in Masan Prison, who was serving in Masan Prison, made a constitutional petition and was determined to be unconstitutional. Shin tried to send a petition letter to the National Rights Commission when the prison refused to treat herniated disc in 2009, but when the prison said that it was not possible to send a sealed letter, he filed a constitutional petition. In February 2012, the Constitution made a decision unconstitutional with the opinion of seven judges, saying that the provisions of the law on the execution of the sentence, which prevented the letter from being sealed and the treatment of prisoners, violated the constitutional freedom of communication secrets. Heonjae said, “The correctional authorities can conveniently search for unsealed letters, but the prisoners give up on exchanging their thoughts or opinions into letters, eventually infringing on the freedom of communication secrecy.” He added that the purpose could be achieved in a less infringing way, such as opening the letter and confirming it only when this goes.” In addition, there are various reasons for lawsuits filed by prisoners. In 2007, a detainee in a detention center filed a lawsuit against the detention warden, claiming that the guidelines related to prisoners who had to be subscribed to the newspaper were illegal. Mr. A applied for a subscription, but filed a lawsuit when he was denied subscription due to the provision that only’daily newspapers published regularly in Korea’ could be subscribed. The Seoul Administrative Court hearing the case ruled, “Unless the newspaper requested by the prisoner is deemed to be harmful to the safety and order of the prison, the prison director should permit it.” In 2014, Mr. B refused to order a haircut from the prison, but after being held in a’punishment room’, he filed a lawsuit against the prison chief to cancel the punishment. The Gwangju District Law in charge of this case raised Mr. B’s hand, saying, “You can grow your hair within a neat range according to regulations.” C, who was imprisoned in the Seoul detention center in 2015, filed a lawsuit claiming that the molars were broken due to chewing stones in rice, and that the state should compensate 8 million won, including medical expenses. Mr. C won the first trial, but the court of appeals court ruled against the plaintiff, saying, “The state is not obligated to provide free treatments that require expensive treatment.” In response to a lawsuit filed by former Sungkyunkwan University professor Kim Myung-ho, the real character of the movie’Broken Arrow’, in 2010 with other inmates,’The suicide prevention screen in the prison blocks sunlight and infringes on basic rights’ It is clear that the detainees have weakened, but the state’s efforts to prevent suicide by prisoners cannot be ignored,” he ruled against the plaintiff.
■ Inmates are more active in foreign countries
Inmates’ lawsuits are taking place more actively abroad. In the United States of the’Litigation Kingdom’, lawsuits related to food provided by correctional facilities are occasionally brought. In January 2019, three inmates who were imprisoned in a prison in Oregon, USA, filed a lawsuit claiming that they were provided with junk food from the prison. The prison provided chicken, fish, and spoiled milk, which were not’for people’, and often felt abdominal pain after eating. However, the district court in charge of the hearing dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that’there is not enough evidence’. In 2013, in Michigan, prisoners filed a lawsuit against prisons asking for halal (Islamic food) and Kosher (Jewish food) diets. Also filed. There are also absurd lawsuits. In 2011, a man imprisoned in a Michigan prison for bank robbery filed a lawsuit saying, “Please let me bring in porn videos and game consoles.” The man argued that’prohibiting pornography is another punishment’, but was dismissed because he did not pay $350 lawsuit fees. In 2016, a prisoner who believed in a religion called “Flying Spaghetti Monster Bridge” (FSM) filed a lawsuit against Nebraska State Prison, claiming that it “restricted religious freedom and caused emotional pain” for damages of $5 million, but was defeated. The Flying Spaghetti Monster School was created by a graduate student in the Department of Physics in 2005. It parodies the existing religion to preach the doctrine that spaghetti monsters created the world. The inmate claimed to have prevented the guards from holding religious rallies, but the court refused to accept the plaintiff’s claim that “flying spaghetti monsterism is not a religion.” By Shin Min-jeong, staff reporter [email protected]