Mister,
I wish to express my grave shock and concern over the recent arrest of the cultural and human rights activist Minod Moktan.
Minod was arrested by immigration officers on October 8 in front of the office of Migrant Workers Television, where he works. The immigration officers were waiting in hiding and ambushed him on his way to work. It is clear by the manner in which this arrest was carried out that this was not a regular immigration procedure but in fact an abuse of state power and act of repression aimed at stopping Minod’s work for migrant’ human rights.
This incident follows the pattern of targeted crackdown against migrant activists carried out in the past, including the arrest of Migrants Trade Union officers in November 2007 and May 2008. This strategy of repression using the authority to detain and deport undocumented immigrants as a cover for targeting migrant activists has already been criticized by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders (A/HRC/10/12/Add.1, para. 1526) and the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (GB.304/6, para. 795b) and will not be tolerated by the international community.
I would also like to express our concern over South Korean government intensification of the brutal crackdown against undocumented migrant workers, which has lead to countless injuries, deaths and human rights abuses. It is exactly this type of policy that Minod opposed. I stand with him and others in South Korea in calling for respect for migrants’ rights as workers and people, regardless of their immigration status.
As such I urgently call on you the meet the following demand:
" Free Minod Moktan
" Stop the crackdown against undocumented migrant workers
" Stop the targeted repression against migrant activists
Sincerely,
Dominique Curis