Is Detention at Age 95 Effectively a Death Sentence? Why a Dominican Journalist Called for House Arrest for Chairman Lee Man-hee

Recently, I came across an interesting article from a Dominican media outlet while browsing the news.

Setting aside blanket support or condemnation, I found that the article offered a chance to take a realistic look at human rights and due process, so I wanted to jot down a few thoughts on my blog.

 

The piece was written by Nicolás Arroyo Ramos, a Dominican journalist and lawyer, and was published in the Dominican media outlets El Nuevo Diario and El Sol de las Américas.

It is a column discussing the ongoing legal proceedings involving Chairman Lee Man-hee of Shincheonji, who is currently detained.

 

It turns out that Ramos is not your average journalist.

He holds master's degrees in international law and international relations from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). A legal expert, he also works as a university professor and columnist.

Perhaps for that reason, he examined the case in considerable depth from the perspectives of public international law and human rights.

 

The most striking point he raised concerned Lee's age and health.

Chairman Lee Man-hee is currently in detention, and Ramos went so far as to describe his prolonged detention as, in effect, little different from a “death sentence.”

Given his advanced age, he may become increasingly physically and mentally frail over time, and he already has multiple medical conditions.

 

The question, then, is whether he really needs to remain confined in a detention facility under such circumstances.

This is particularly so when, as Ramos argues, he does not appear to pose a flight risk.

In the article, Ramos respectfully calls for the trial to proceed in accordance with due process, with Lee placed under house arrest rather than kept in detention.

 

Given his background in international law, his view appears to be that fundamental human rights—including the rights to life, health, and food—must be protected as rights to which every human being is entitled.

 

Later in the article, Ramos also briefly discusses Chairman Lee's longstanding peace efforts.

Ramos adds that Lee established HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light) and has carried out peace initiatives around the world, producing tangible results, and suggests that the court should give due consideration to his record as a prominent peace activist.

 

After reading through the article, here are my personal thoughts.

Whatever the allegations may be, the question of guilt or innocence should, of course, be carefully determined through the judicial process.

That is the role of the court.

 But apart from determining the allegations and the legal necessity of detention, whether a 95-year-old man should continue to be held in detention is, I think, a distinct question that deserves to be considered separately.

 

Regardless of one's views on any particular religion or organization, at the age of 95, a person's health can be uncertain from one day to the next.

The trial process itself already requires considerable physical and mental strength, so if there is no risk of flight, I honestly question whether keeping him in the highly restrictive environment of a detention facility is truly the best option.

 

The Dominican journalist's point that excessive judicial measures could potentially pose a direct threat to a person's life strikes me as quite compelling.

The legal process must reach a clear judgment, but I hope that basic human dignity will not be overlooked along the way.

 

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