A/HRC/25/CRP.1 asked by the municipality to go to one of the executions, but did not do so. The authorities could not force her, because she was out of school and they could not easily locate her. In her home province, there was a special security force that was assigned to crack down on the viewing of South Korean movies. They conducted door to door searches and checked people’s CD players. On some occasions, they waited for the electricity power to come on and then deliberately cut it, so that people could not take out the CD from the player. On one occasion, a friend threw his CD player out of the window, so as not to get caught. Around 2006, one of her sister’s friends, a 31 year old woman and her brother were caught watching South Korean movies and were tortured. She was detained for one month, during which she was deprived of sleep and beaten. She had to write a long apology for days on end. Shortly after her release, Ms L saw the woman and noticed how thin she was. She also heard that the woman’s brother was beaten so badly that he could not walk for a while.209 • A former SSD official, who served in a border province, indicated that the SSD would be responsible for monitoring illegal importation of “capitalist” goods such as soap operas from the ROK and pornographic material. Those implicated in such crimes would be shot to death or sent to an ordinary prison camp (kyohwaso) for 1015 years depending on the severity of the crime and level of involvement.210 • One witness informed the Commission that, in 2008, a relative of hers had watched CD-roms from China and then gave the CD-roms to his friends. He was arrested by the local authorities and “tried” publically, and eventually executed in Hoeryong.211 217. The Commission was informed by several witnesses that orders were apparently handed down directly by the Supreme Leader to crack down on foreign movies. Group 109, an inter-agency surveillance group named after the date of its establishment on 9 October 2003 by Kim Jong-il, is mentioned as being responsible for specifically cracking down on these items.212 Group 109 also gathered people in a stadium, more than twice a month, as spectators to those who had been caught and would be sent to an ordinary prison camp (kyohwaso) as a warning for the rest.213 According to one former SSD agent, Group 109 was made permanent in 2009 and with more specialized agents.214 • According to one witness, there was a very large crackdown under the order of Kim Jong-il on items illegally imported from the ROK and other prohibited goods into the DPRK towards the end of 2004. A central inspection group was reportedly established, comprising representatives from the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the prosecutor’s office, the judiciary, SSD intelligence, the police, the Youth League, Women’s Union, and Workers’ Organization. The central inspection group had full authority to undertake inspections, arrests and imprisonment. It had the objective of “clearing” the areas near the border including Musan, Hoeryong, and Onsong in North Hamgyong Province, and in Ryanggang Province. Examples of prohibited items included illegal books (such as books not printed in the DPRK, and religious and other DPRK books published without Government approval) and illegal recordings (such as CD-roms, video tapes, and 209 210 211 212 213 214 60 Tokyo Public Hearing, 29 August 2013, afternoon (with additional details provided by the witness in a confidential interview). TJH015. TBG028. TAP002, TAP008, TBG031. TAP008. TLC041.