North Korean Defector in Geneva and available for interviews

North Korean Defector in Geneva and available for interviews, as North Korea tries to water down key UN resolution

GENEVA, Nov. 13, 2014 - As North Korea tries to water down a key UN General Assembly resolution on North Korean crimes, famous North Korean defector Mr. Ahn Myeong Cheol will visit Geneva to meet UN officials and diplomats and will be available for interviews next Monday and Tuesday, November 17-18.

Ahn has testified to the UN Commission of Inquiry about his personal experiences relating to human rights violations in North Korea. He was a prison guard in labor camps and witnessed first-hand the regime's atrocities. The UNGA resolution is meant to endorse the CoI report.

In addition, Mr. Ahn spearheaded a request by 20 North Korean defectors to Swiss President Didier Burkhalter to freeze Swiss bank accounts held by North Korean regime figures, which received a rare response by the Swiss President. The appeal has been quoted by numerous media including CNN, theWashington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

For interviews, please contact Leon Saltiel
Email: lsaltiel@unwatch.org
Tel: +41 22 734 1472

BIO

Ahn Myeong Cheol was a prison guard in the North Korean regime's brutal gulag who escaped to South Korea and became a human rights activist. Born in North Hamgyong Province in North Korea, he was the only one chosen in his district, at age 18, to become a political prison camp guard. Throughout his service, Ahn was subjected to heavy brain-washing into believing that political prisoners were enemies of the state unworthy of sympathy. He worked for a total of eight years in four different camps. These camps were all designated as total control zones, which prohibit the release of prisoners under any circumstances. Since his escape, Ahn has become a North Korean human rights activist. He has provided testimony at the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK and is now the executive director of the organization NK Watch.

ENDS

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