A/HRC/25/CRP.1 executed. In the case of Christians, the SSD tried to ascertain how long a person had been a Christian. They looked at the circumstances, e.g. whether the person tried to bring Bibles into the DPRK. In such cases, the persons were typically sent to prison camps without a trial.517 • One former security official indicated that he received orders from his superiors to classify “defectors” into three groups. The first group were those who crossed the border only for food with the intention of coming back to the DPRK – they were to be sent to labour camps for three to six months. The second group were those who left the DPRK with the intention of reaching the ROK – they were to be sent to an ordinary prison camp (kyohwaso). The third group were those who leave the DPRK with the intention of going to the ROK using channels provided by Christian groups or the ROK intelligence network – they were to be sent to a political prison camp (kwanliso). Public executions of “defectors” were carried out where politically expedient.518 • Another former SSD agent indicated that people forcibly repatriated from China were treated entirely differently from those who returned to the DPRK voluntarily. They were to be interrogated as to whether they had been in contact with churches or with ROK nationals, and, if so, they were to be sent to the SSD provincial headquarters and from there to a kwanliso. The rest were to be sent to MPS facilities and from there to an ordinary prison (kyohwaso).519 (i) Torture and inhuman treatment during interrogation 411. The Commission finds that during the interrogation carried out by the SSD and MPS, severe beatings and other forms of torture are systematically used, until the interrogators are convinced that the victim has stated the truth and confessed to the totality of his or her wrongdoing. With rare exceptions, every single one of more than 100 persons repatriated from China who were interviewed by the Commission were beaten or subjected to worse forms of torture during interrogations. Inhumane detention conditions that characterize the interrogation detention centres of the SSD and MPS exert additional pressure on detainees to confess quickly to secure their survival.520 412. During the interrogation phase, suspects receive a quantity of rations that is designed to cause hunger and starvation. In some interrogation detention centres, inmates are also subjected to forced labour in farming and construction. This violates international standards which prohibit imposing forced labour on persons not duly convicted.521 Inmates who are not being interrogated or who are not working have to sit or kneel the entire day in a fixed posture in often severely overcrowded cells. They are not allowed to speak, move, or look around without permission. Failure to obey these rules will be punished by beatings, food ration cuts or forced physical exercise. Punishment is often imposed collectively on all cellmates. • Mr Kim Song-ju said at the London Public Hearing: “As soon as I set my foot back in North Korea, the treatment of me was [as though I was] below human... In the course of interrogating me, they hit me, because they asked me whether I was in contact with South Koreans, or if I had gotten involved with any religious acts, but 517 518 519 520 521 TJH015. TJH004. TJH041. See also section IV.E for more details and illustrative examples on torture, deliberate starvation and inhumane conditions of detention imposed on persons held at interrogation detention centres. See further section IV.E on international standards. 115