Camp 22
| Camp 22 | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 회령 제22호 관리소 |
| Hancha | 會寧第二十二號管理所 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hoeryŏng Che Isibi-ho Kwalliso |
| Revised Romanization | Hoeryeong Je Isipi-ho Gwalliso |
| Other name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 회령 정치범 수용소 |
| Hancha | 會寧政治犯收容所 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hoeryŏng Chŏngch'ibŏm Suyongso |
| Revised Romanization | Hoeryeong Jeongchibeum Suyongso |
Camp 22 (also known as Kwan-li-so No.22 Haengyong; Kwan-li-so is Korean for "holding place") is a North Korean prison for political prisoners and their relatives.[1] The camp is the largest concentration camp in North Korea and is thought to hold 50,000 prisoners.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
According to Ahn Myong Chol, a guard at the camp between 1987 and 1994, Camp 22 was established in 1959.[2] As of today, there are an estimated 50,000 prisoners held in Camp 22.[3] Most have been imprisoned because their relatives were critical of the Korean Workers' Party or its late General Secretary, Kim Jong-Il. Analysis of satellite imagery suggests that the camp is surrounded by guarded fences. Housing is clustered in fairly small groups. Reasons for housing the prisoners in this fashion are unclear, but it could be to decrease the risk of rebellion. Most of the prison covers several square kilometers to the north and to the northeast of the main administration area.
[edit] Location
Camp 22 is located in north-east North Korea, on the border with Russia and China, 20 km from the city of Hoeryong. The camp, the existence of which is denied by the North Korean government, carries no name on state maps. It is surrounded by the villages of Wŏn-dong, Ssŏgŭndari, Kulsal-li, Haengyŏng-ni (headquarters of the camp), Naksaeng-ni and Chungch’u-dong.
[edit] Human experimentation
There have been numerous reports of human rights violations of prisoners at Camp 22. Accounts include the use of a glass gas chamber to observe the effects of toxic chemical experiments.[1] Activities have been revealed by a chief of management at Camp 22, Kwon Hyok.[4]
[edit] See also
- Human rights in North Korea
- Yodok concentration camp
- Extermination through labour (Nazi Germany)
- Gulag
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Barnett, Antony (1 February 2004). "Revealed: the gas chamber horror of North Korea's gulag". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/feb/01/northkorea. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ "Former guard: Ahn Myong Chol North Korean prison guard remembers atrocities". msnbc. 15 January 2003. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3071468/. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Harden, Blaine (20 July 2009). "N. Korea's Hard-Labor Camps: On the Diplomatic Back Burner". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Frenkiel, Olenka (30 January 2004). "Within prison walls". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/3440771.stm. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
[edit] External links
- Satellite imagery and witness accounts of North Korean political prison and reeducation camps
- Committee for Human Rights in North Korea: The Hidden Gulag - Overview on North Korean prison camps with testimonies and satellite photographs
- Amnesty International: North Korea: Political Prison Camps - Document on camp conditions (torture, executions, hunger, child labor, forced labor) in North Korean prison camps
- Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights: Documents - Testimonies and witness accounts of North Korean refugees
- Freedom House: Concentrations of inhumanity – Analysis of the phenomena of repression associated with North Korea’s political labor camps
- National Human Rights Commission of Korea: Survey Report on Political Prisoners’ Camps in North Korea – Overall and systematic analysis of political prison camps on the basis of in-depth interviews with North Korean witnesses
- Christian Solidarity Worldwide: North Korea: A case to answer – a call to act – Report to emphasize the urgent need to mass killings, arbitrary imprisonment, torture and related international crimes
- Life Funds for North Korean Refugees: Are they telling the truth? – Eye-witness accounts from North Korean prison camps
- Washington Post: North Koreas Hard Labor Camps - Explore North Korean prison camps with interactive map
- The Daily NK: The Hub of North Korean News – News directly from North Korea
- Annotated Satellite Maps of Camp 22
- "Death, terror in N. Korea gulag NBC News investigation uncovers horrific, extensive atrocities."
Coordinates: 42°32′17″N 129°56′08″E / 42.537967°N 129.935517°E
|
|||||||
 |
This article about a North Korean building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This prison-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
