Originally published in Metro
A young child was sentenced to life in a prison camp in North Korea because their parents owned a Bible.
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The two-year-old, whose entire family was also jailed, will never see life outside of the prison walls after the ruling was made.
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It’s one of many extreme cases exposed in a new International Religious Freedom Report from the US State Department.
Describing the treatment of the toddler, the report said: ‘One case involved the 2009 arrest of a family based on their religious practices and possession of a Bible.
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‘The entire family, including a two-year-old child, were given life sentences in political prison camps.’
Conditions of those camps were described by Christians as “dire” and those inside were often also subjected to “various forms of physical mistreatment”.
Even more severe punishments were laid down for other Christians in the east Asian country with many being executed because of their faith.
Among those to pay with their life was one woman and her grandchild who were shot dead by a firing squad in 2011.
Other believers faced pigeon torture, whereby they were suspended with their hands tied behind their backs, unable to sit or stand for days on end.
“It was the most painful of all tortures,” one victim recalled. “It was so painful that I felt it was better to die.”
Another case saw a member of the ruling party killed in front of 3 000 people at Hyesan airfield after they were found in possession of a Bible.
A disturbing picture of Christian life in North Korea has been painted by the report, which summarises the findings of various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), human rights groups and the UN.
It cites one estimate that up to 70 000 Christians are imprisoned for their faith under the Kim Jong-Un regime, out of a possible population of 400 000.
And some of those have been tortured with sleep deprivation, starvation, dehydration, tainted food, beatings, and forced adoption of agonising positions for prolonged periods.
One Christian woman in solitary confinement was driven to suicide in 2020 after prison guards refused to let her sleep, according to the new publication.
North Korea claims that it guarantees its people religious freedom in its constitution, referencing the churches it has built in Pyongyang as proof.
However, the new report says these churches only operate as “showpieces for foreigners”, citing the testimony of one defector who said people could be arrested for lingering too long outside churches and listening to music from within, or even consistently driving past them.
Ray Cunningham, from Homer in the US state of Illinois, visited Chilgol Protestant Church in Pyongyang during a service and told Pen News: “I came away wondering just how real this is.
“Are the services regular? The church seems maintained but is it a regular event? In the society you see no evidence of religious activity – except for Buddhism.
“It feels real but like many things indeed it may be somewhat a show for tourists. In this case it might be a mixture of showmanship and a few elderly Christians in the area.”
He also noted something that was highlighted in the report – no children attend the services.
He said: ‘The congregation was made up of older men – all seemingly over 65 – and women over 40. What you did not see were children or young working-age people.’
According to the new publication, many North Korean Christians actually hid their faith from their children.
The finding of one NGO, Open Doors USA (ODUSA), was cited and said: “A Christian is never safe. Children are encouraged to tell their teachers about any sign of faith in their parents’ home.”
Another NGO, Korea Future, said children were taught in school about the “evil deeds” of Christian missionaries, including “rape, blood sucking, organ harvesting, murder, and espionage”.
The report said: “One defector told Korea Future that the government published graphic novels in which Christians coaxed children into churches and took them to the basement to draw their blood.”
While most of the cases of religious persecution documented by Korea Future targeted those practising shamanism, it was Christians who normally received the harshest punishments.
It’s because they’re perceived as a “hostile class” and a “serious threat to loyalty to the state”, the report said.
Followers of shamanism face punishments ranging from six months in a forced labour camp to three or more years in a reeducation facility.
But Christians can be executed or face anything from 15 years to life in a prison camp, imposed on up to three generations of the immediate family of the person found guilty.
In place of religion, the Kim family demands worship for itself and its ideology of Juche – meaning national self-reliance, the publication said.
The report repeated the conclusion reached by ODUSA, that “life for Christians is a constant cauldron of pressure; capture or death is only a mistake away”.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that every North Korean has been ordered to read 10 000 pages of propaganda praising Kim Jong-Un to stop the spread of foreign media.
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