Overnight interrogations by prosecutors surge over 3 years

Despite an official order in 2006 to limit overnight interrogations by prosecutors in order to protect human rights, their frequency surged nearly 2.5-fold over the past three years, a report showed Tuesday.

A total of 554 people were held overnight for questioning by prosecutors in 2010, up 151 percent from 221 in 2007, according to a Justice Ministry report submitted to Lee Choon-suk, a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party, during a parliamentary audit.

The number of all-night interrogations has grown steadily since 2007 to 398 in 2008 and 475 the following year, according to the report.

The figure for the first six months of this year was 300, signaling an on-year increase for 2011.

Of the 554 people interrogated overnight last year, 134, or 24 percent, were questioned by prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the central prosecution office in Seoul, the report showed.

The upturn in recent years came despite the 2006 order by the Justice Ministry to limit all-night interrogations to particular cases. These are permitted only when those being questioned agree to the interrogation or the statute of limitations on the matter is due to expire. The order was made following the death in 2002 of a person during an overnight interrogation by prosecutors.

“If overnight interrogations continue to jump, even with the examinees’ consent, the 2006 human rights protection order could become little more than a name,” Lee said. “Prosecutors should more strictly apply the all-night questioning ban.” (Yonhap News)