Fortune teller executed by firing squad in North Korea
The North Korean authorities have recently focused on cracking down on “acts of superstition” leading to the execution of a fortune teller in the Chongjin and the arrest of other fortune tellers in Onsong and Hoeryong who are awaiting trial.
“A female fortune teller in her early 20s was executed by firing squad in Chongjin on November 17 and similar punishments were carried out in other parts of the country as well,” said a North Hamgyong Province-based source on December 13.
A separate source in North Hamgyong Province added, “One fortune teller, known as “Huisun,” was sentenced to 18 years hard labor in Onsong, while in Hoeryong, six fortune tellers remain under investigation by local police with rumors that they may also face execution.”
It is unusual for the North Korean state to resort to such extreme punishments, which are far removed from the country’s general legal precedent. Section 256 of the North Korean criminal code states that: “Anyone who engages in superstition-based activities for money or other forms of payment can be sentenced to a maximum of one year in a forced labor camp, and if the person in question has taught others in regards to superstition-based activities or their crimes are of a serious nature, they can be sentenced to a maximum of three year sentence of reform through labor.”
The recent sentences suggest that the North Korean authorities are on the lookout for those with wavering ideology toward the regime. Severe crackdowns were carried out against acts of superstition during the Kim Jong Il era and the oppressive measures have only become more stringent. ......
[Source: Daily NK]
