First of all, we gave the name Jamal, but he prefers that we use for the public his nickname: Rason. So, from now we will only use it, just forget Jamal.
During last Sunday’s, October 26, police attacks against the demonstration of migrant and Korean irregular workers, at 5 pm were arrested. After the cops took them, around 40 riot cops surrounded Bidduth and Rason, handcuffed them on the back… and beat them up. Video evidence shows clearly the police brutality against Bidduth: cops were sitting on his body using truncheons to hold him down and he is just crying because of the pain.
Later in Guro Police station, more than three hours Bidduth had to sit without to get a new shirt, the cops torn up during the first seconds of the arrest. The whole time Bidduth and Rason were handcuffed on the back – to drink water they got a bowl and they’d to “drink” like animals.
But with this, cop’s imagination of brutality was not on its end. When the cops started the preparations for transferring Bidduth and Rason from Guro to Mokdong Immigration Office, officers told them that they will be released now, what Bidduth did not believed and started to fight against the transfer, the cops beaten him up again and covered his head a black textile back.
On the way to Mokdong he asked the cops to where they would be brought, an officer answered: “We’ll bring you now to the mountains, there we’ll kill and bury you in the forest”.
On Monday, October 27, at 12 pm about 40 Korean supporters hold a sit-in strike until 9 am in the next morning in front of the gates of Mokdong Immigration Office, even in that night it was really heavy raining in Seoul. In the next morning 8.30 am, immigration officers transferred Bidduth and Rason to Hwaseong detention center. The supporters tried to block it, but failed because of violence used by riot police. Tuesday, October 28, in the afternoon migrants, Korean workers and students held a protest rally in front of the main gate of Immigration Office.
Wednesday, October 29, a delegation from ETU-MB and Kong Jeong-ok, a doctor from Korean Institute for Labor Safety and Health, visited Bidduth and Rason in Hwaseong. Doctor Kong wanted to examine the prisoners, but the authority there refused. But, even Bidduth has heavy pain in the left shoulder, as a result of police brutality, he said he feel not so bad and the “comrades have not to care about his safety, instead they have to increase the struggle for achieving our goals” (see also his letter to the comrades of ETU-MB). From now, ETU-MB (Equality Trade Union – Migrant Branch) and Korean supporters will visit them at least one time daily.
Also on Wednesday, in the afternoon, in downtown Seoul’s Jongmyo Park a massive rally was held to protest against South Korean government’s policy to oppress trade unions, especially the activities of KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) and its branches. As a part of KCTU, ETU-MB nowadays is under maximum repression against its activists and members. Because of this situation, Samar Thapa got the opportunity to hold the opening speech, followed by a official KCTU statement, explaining the case of the arrests of ETU-MB’s activists and demanding their immediate releasing from prison.
By the way, also this demonstration, followed the rally, was broken up by large units of riot cops by blocking the way after more than two hours of fierce and bloody street fights between the demonstrators and the cops, after they attacked the demonstration just after its beginning.
|
|
our next schedule 
