PRISON VISIT TO AMCIT HYO SOON PARK

UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000012 SIPDIS DEPT FOR CA/OCS/EUR; MOSCOW FOR CG; MOSCOW FOR ACS CHIEF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CASC RS SUBJECT: PRISON VISIT TO AMCIT HYO SOON PARK REF: 2009 VLADIVOSTOK 93 AND PREVIOUS Background: Hyo Soon Park was charged and convicted of Bribery of a Government Official. Park was convicted on July 16, 2009 and sentenced to 18 months in jail. ¶1. On February 15, 2010, Consular Officer and Consular Agent-Sakhalin visited Park in the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Prison. We spoke with Park for 30 minutes, uninterrupted, in the presence of detention officials and the local MFA representative. ¶2. Park has serious, ongoing problems with his heart. Consular Agent has been meeting with Park regularly since Park was first arrested. Consular Agent noted that this was the worst that Park has ever looked. Park was breathing very heavily and looked dizzy and disoriented at times. Park reported that the left side of his body hurts and feels numb, he experiences rapid heart beating and that his blood pressure fluctuates both high and low. Consular Agent is able to deliver heart and high blood pressure medicine prescribed by the prison doctor. ¶3. Including time served in pre-trial detention, as of February 1, 2010, Park has served more than half of his sentence. Park's lawyer submitted parole documents to the judge and formally requested that Park be released on parole. The date of the hearing has not been set. Park requested that he not attend the parole hearing due to his poor health. Consulate Vladivostok has submitted a Diplomatic Note formally requesting that Park be released on parole for humanitarian reasons. ¶4. Consular Agent spoke to a judge from the city court, the court in charge of parole, on February 10, 2010. The judge said that due to the "severity" of Park's charges, he would not be due for parole until two-thirds of his sentence was over. It has been the understanding of Park's lawyer, wife, and the Consulate, that he was eligible for parole after half of his sentence was served. The Consulate spoke to Park's wife and lawyer about this, and his lawyer said that he is eligible for parole now. ¶5. Park's wife last visited him on February 5, 2010, and visits him about once every two months. Consular Agent delivers Korean language newspaper to Mr. Park on a weekly basis. The Consular Agent informed Park that he was able to put 2,000 rubles on Park's prison account and the prison officials allowed us to deliver fresh fruit to Park. ¶6. Though the Consular Agent has been visiting Park monthly without any problems, there was confusion about the procedures to meet Mr. Park this time. There was a new prison warden and he said that the Consulate would need to follow different procedures, which included getting permission from the prison administration in Moscow and waiting 10 days. (Note: We spoke to ACS Embassy Moscow, and they are not aware of any 10-day rule.) After following this procedure we did not have any problems visiting Park. The previous warden has returned, so it is not clear if we will need to follow these new procedures for future visits. ¶7. Post appreciates the Embassy and the Department also weighing in with appropriate officials on the urgency of granting parole for Mr. Park. Parole would be in keeping with international norms, given that Park cannot receive the medical treatment he needs in prison. ARMBRUSTER