Human Rights Commission: "Excessive Use of Handcuffs and Lack of Toilet Privacy Screens in Detention Centers Constitute Human Rights Violations"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The National Human Rights Commission has determined that the police’s use of double handcuffs during the process of detaining a suspect in a detention center, and the failure to install partitions in the detention center’s restroom, constitute human rights violations.

On the 23rd, the National Human Rights Commission recommended to the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency that "it is necessary to disseminate this case to ensure that the use of handcuffs does not infringe on personal dignity or physical freedom," and "it is necessary to revise related regulations to prevent violations of personal dignity and the secrecy and freedom of privacy caused by the absence of partitions in the restroom within protective detention rooms."

The complainant, Mr. B, was an arrestee detained on the spot and was handcuffed with two handcuffs simultaneously during the process of being admitted to the protective detention room in the detention center of C Police Station. Mr. BB also filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, stating, "There were no partitions in the restroom of the protective detention room, so I felt humiliated when using the restroom."

In response, the responsible police officer claimed, "At the time, the complainant refused a body search and caused a disturbance and riot, so for the purpose of preventing danger and protecting detainees, rear handcuffs (handcuffs applied with both hands behind the back) were used to admit him to the protective detention room," and added, "The additional connection of the rear handcuffs to another handcuff fixed to a wall hook was an unavoidable measure considering the CCTV blind spots inside the protective detention room and the complainant’s risk of self-harm."

The Human Rights Commission judged, "The existence of CCTV blind spots cannot justify physical restraint," and "In a state where the body is already restrained and the detainee is admitted to the protective detention room with severely limited movement, further connecting the detainee to a wall hook with another handcuff to extremely restrict movement causes personal humiliation and infringes on physical freedom."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.