ARBITRARY ARREST, DETENTION, AND THE ABSENCE OF DUE PROCESS AND FAIR TRIAL RIGHTS The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds that the deprivation of liberty becomes arbitrary under several circumstances, such as when an arrest or detention does not invoke any legal justification for the deprivation of liberty. Similarly, when an arrest or detention results from the exercise of rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it takes an arbitrary character, as does a disregard for the international norms relating to the right to a fair trial that results in the deprivation of liberty. 6 In practice, there are very few instances where the arrest of a North Korean exercising his or her freedom of religion or belief may be considered lawful. North Korean citizens, including those arrested for religious freedom-based reasons, must be afforded fair trial rights. These include the right to be informed of charges upon arrest, the right to be brought before a court within a reasonable time, the right to consult with and be represented by legal assistance or an attorney of one’s choosing, the right to adequate time for preparation of a defense, and the presumption of innocence. These rights further rely upon an independent and transparent judiciary or tribunal, and other key elements, such as the right to appeal. We did not document any cases of the Ministry of People’s Security or the Ministry of State Security issuing court orders or arrest warrants or making individuals aware of their rights at the moment of arrest. On the issue of informing suspects that they were being arrested, we documented differences between Ministry of People’s Security and Ministry of State Security processes. Jung Seol Bin was arrested and detained by Samjiyon Ministry of State Security after being approached in the following manner: “When someone tells you that they are from the Ministry of State Security and asks you to accompany them for questioning, you comply. The officer who came to our house was not wearing any uniform or any rank insignia.” This is not unrelated to fundamental differences in modus operandi. Ministry of People’s Security officers are seen working in public as law enforcement officials, while Ministry of State Security officers operate in secret, in the manner of an 6 intelligence agency. Yet the lack of transparency surrounding arrest and pre-trial detention by the Ministry of State Security extends beyond the moment of arrest. According to Min Hyeong Guk, who was detained by the Hyesan Ministry of State Security for several weeks, “They did not provide any explanations on why I was held for an extended period […] They told me to think of them as teachers and myself as a student.” Another illustration of such lack of transparency comes from a former detainee who had been held by the Ministry of State Security for 20 days and given no explanation when moved out of Ministry of State Security custody and into Ministry of People’s Security custody. Reflecting the bureaucratic nature of law enforcement entities in North Korea, however, there are some evident aspects of due process in the arrest and pre-trial detention of individuals. These include restrictions on the length of pre-trial detention and the review of cases by officials from an entity other than the arresting entity, at least in the case of the Ministry of People’s Security. However, for both the Ministry of People’s Security and the Ministry of State Security, there is little in the way of due process that serves to protect an individual’s rights “to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense” or “to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal,” as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations. “Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.” Accessed July 20, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/OpinionsadoptedbytheWGAD.aspx Organized Persecution: Documenting Religious Freedom Violations in North Korea 17