security camps). Transfer to a maximum-security camp can be applied to
prisoners charged with a serious offense. Internal imprisonment, added labor,
reduced meal rations are applied to relatively less serious offenses. Cases of
prolonging prison terms or converting an existing prison terms to a life
sentence are common. No meaningful differences are found regarding the
severity of punishment differentiated by respective camps. In particular, all
witnesses testify to the practice of public and secret executions.
(3)
Type of Crimes Punished
The most frequent crimes committed in PPC include attempted escape,
disobedience to SSA officers, acts of violence, unsanctioned sexual
relationships among prisoners, remarks made about the outside world,
complaining, stealing, failure to accomplish work quotas, and loss of camp
tools.
In most cases, prisoners are publicly or secretly executed as a
punishment for escape attempts. The survey confirms the most serious
offense in the PPC is an attempt to escape. The survey shows that prisoners
charged with making comments about the outside world, complaints and
protestations of treatment, as well as unsanctioned sexual relationship with
other prisoners normally result in the transfer of the prisoner to a maximumsecurity camp or internal PPC incarceration for an extended period of time.
Prisoners charged with failure to accomplish work quotas, theft, loss of tools,
etc. are subject to a relatively light punishment of hard labor assignments,
reduced meal rations or humiliation at a self-criticism meeting. Survey results
indicated that prisoners charged with relatively light infractions can, at times,
also receive heavy punishment, such as an extended lock-up, or sustaining
bodily injury, such as partial amputation of fingers, if the prisoner’s mistake
results in a heavy loss or the impact on the PPC is deemed serious.
(4)
Type and Function of Confinement Facilities at PPC
Survey results indicate that all PPC have facilities for internal confinement. In the
absence of a uniform title, they are variously referred to as: ‘junior prison,’ jail,
detention cell, training unit, secret prison, etc. by different camps. These facilities
are divided in two types: confinement with cruel and forced labor, and detention
without hard labor. Terms of confinement appear to be rather short, usually one to
two months. However, one testimony referred to a case of confinement with a
period in excess of one year. Survey results from PPC No. 14 at Kaechon, in
particular, indicate facilities exist respectively for in-depth investigation and
confinement; brutality and torture are practiced over an extended period of time.
Conditions are reported to be so horrendous and prisoners so cruelly
treated at these confinement facilities of the camp, that the incidence of death
among victims is very high. The confinement system of the camp plays an
important role in terrorizing the prisoners to maintain PPC discipline.
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