Aijalon Mahli Gomes (Data picture)
Posted on 04/07/2010 3:31:30 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
(LEAD) N. Korea sentences U.S. man to 8 years of hard labor for illegal entry
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea sentenced a detained U.S. man to eight years of hard labor and a hefty fine for illegal entry into the communist state and hostility toward it, its official media reported Wednesday.
The move contrasts with Pyongyang's release in February of an American activist detained also for illegal entry, suggesting that the regime is trying to use the latest case as a negotiating card amid a nuclear standoff with Washington.
Aijalon Mahli Gomes (Data picture)
The trial took place Tuesday, attended by unidentified officials of the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency said in a four-paragraph dispatch monitored in Seoul.
North Korea last month identified the American as Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who crossed into North Korea through the border with China on Jan. 25. He was a former English teacher in South Korea with reportedly deep religious convictions.
"His guilt was confirmed according to the relevant articles of the criminal code of the DPRK at the trial. On this basis, the court sentenced him to eight years of hard labor and a fine of 70 million won," the KCNA said. "The accused admitted all the facts which had been put under accusation."
DPRK stands for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Under the North Korean trade bank's official exchange rate, the fine amounts to about US$700,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at english.yonhapnews.co.kr ...
P!
I don’t know. Kinda hard to feel sorry for him since he knew he was crossing in North Korea, had every intention of crossing into North Korea and knew full well the consequences would be dire. I am sure he meant well, but he was not going to help anyone in the long run. North Korea tried and convicted this man under their own laws (such as they are) and I have little doubt as to his guilt.
American capitalism sentences those who enter illegally to years of hard labor in our fields, factories, homes, and restaurants - but instead of fining them, they are PAID.
Illegal entry, ya all sh-theads in D.C. listin?????
8 years hard labor is the death penalty.
Tiger did you see this LOL!
http://www.france24.com/en/20100407-nkorea-leader-sets-world-fashion-trend-pyongyang
What is he college student got drunk cross into DMZ zone during SPring break ROFL
Thanks for the ping.
I think it be Bill Clinton LOL! this time around
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