Indian man alleges abuse during deportation from Korea in rights petition

An Indian man has filed a petition with the Korean human rights watchdog alleging physical abuse during his deportation, such as having his mouth duct-taped and being choked by immigration authorities.

The Indian national submitted the petition to the National Human Rights Commission last Friday over violations of his bodily freedom and human dignity during his deportation on Aug. 27.

According to the petition, the man had been detained at an immigration holding center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Seoul, for about eight months before officials forcibly removed him from the site.

Under immigration law, foreigners subject to deportation may remain in such facilities for up to nine months.

The petition said the man was duct-taped around his mouth and suffered physical abuse, such as being hit on the cheek and being choked after he arrived at the airport to be deported.

Rep. Park Eun-jung of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party shared bodycam footage submitted by the Justice Ministry on the deportation during a parliamentary audit of the ministry Thursday.

The footage showed the man saying he would not fight and go on his own, while an officer appeared to grab his neck and told him to stop talking

In response to the footage, acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo acknowledged that it was "clearly wrong" to have duct-taped his mouth.

Yonhap