Saturday, August 07, 2010

23 North Korean Christians arrested, 3 executed


North Korea's Stalinist regime discovered some underground Christians in a house church in Pyongan Province. All 23 were arrested. Three were tried and given the death penalty, which was swiftly executed, sources told AsiaNews. Confirmation about the incident also came from the North Korea Intellectual Solidarity, a group of North Korean exiles.

According to the sources, police discovered 23 Christians in Kuwal-dong, Pyungsung County, in Pyongan Province, who met as an underground church. After their arrest, they were interrogated at length. Eventually, the group's "ringleaders" were sentenced to death and executed. The others were sent to Kwan-li-so (Penal labour colony) No 15 in Yodŏk.

"As the authorities fear the spread of religion, many area residents are rounded up and interrogated for days," the sources said. However, "they cannot help it because the situation is so desperate that people are going back to religion. Such sentences are meant to scare people."

These North Koreans discovered underground Christianity when some of them travelled to mainland China for work.
[Catholic.org]

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