SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman last month for distributing the Bible, which is banned in the communist nation, South Korean activists said Friday.
Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States and organizing dissidents. She was executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon near the border with China on June 16, according to a report from an alliance of several dozen anti-North Korea groups.
Ri’s parents, husband and three children were sent to a political prison camp in the northeastern city of Hoeryong the following day, the report said, citing unidentified documents it says were obtained from North Korea. It showed a copy of Ri’s North Korean government-issued photo ID.
never liked communist countries.. killing a woman for distributing the Bible? What a shame !
i would place the blame more on totalitarian dictatorship than communism, being a communist at heart myself (whilst knowing that it would never work, i still find the idea of the equality of everyone as admirable). This sort of thing would happen in a fascist state aswell, which are more openly totalitarian than north korea.
enough of that speak.
I still get angry at what i hear about north korea, no matter how many things i read, and i think the only way it could change peacefully would be to get the internet to the north koreans, which i doubt would ever happen, so i’m truely worried about ordinary north koreans safety because of the actions of a few power hungry scared men.
No matter what your religious beliefs (or lack thereof) are, things like this are just terrible. There is something inherently wrong with these kinds of actions.
North Korea is the only time you’ll hear Christopher Hitchens say that someone who has died is now in a better place. And we know he’s not talking about an afterlife.
This must be just one example of the kind of outrageous things taking place in that nightmare country that we never hear about. I can only hope that the people revolt at some point. They make her family pay for her “crime” to keep everyone else in line. Atrocious.
ok that’s a bit steep but i do wish they did that in oxford city centre!
btw – very nice icon in url bar and tabs!
This is outragious indeed i´m not for violence but, that leader should be taken down, period.
I can’t help but wonder if she was executed for spying, rather than distributing Bibles. Perhaps a bit of Christian spin has been put on the story here?
Let’s hope the rotten part will be taken out there in due time. The whole family into prison,including kids, even if the woman would have committed a crime against North Korea’s rulers .. .. it’s absurd. Let’s hope the death of her and many others was not for nothing, did not just serve the authorities’ main goal regarding the people. Putting your own childeren at risk is a high price for anything I’d say. Unless there are no good options left anymore.
At last someone has silenced one of those annoying bible thumpers.