“How can this happen?” Paco Booyah humorously expresses his upset and infuriated feeling after May 30 court decision.
Paco Booyah was sentenced of unjust 700,000 won fines (approx. 700 USD) on May 30. The prosecutor has appealed to the higher court and the appeal trial was held on May 9. In the original court on Feb. 8, this year, he has been sentenced of postponement of same amount of fines.
The judge, Choi Nam-Sik said that, “the prosecutor reasoned his appeal that the sentence on the accused (Paco Booyah) is too weak, compared to that on Koreans.’ The decision of higher court is that ‘there is no reason to seek for adequate management merely because he is a foreigner. There should be balance to be considered as the original court sentence on him is weaker, compared to the same charge on Koreans. The matter on deportation will be decided, considered of all sorts of situations by the Ministry of Justice, not by this court decision. The reason that the accused’ wife is Korean would be a condition for its consideration. However, the court cannot make difference of sentence for that reason. We dismiss the court decision of original court and sentence the accused of 700,000 won fines. If he does not pay for fines, he should take prison labor of 50,000 won a day. The application for the Supreme Court decision should be within a week. He should submit the document to it to the Jeju local court. The document on this court decision can be mailed to the accused’ address within a week after the accused applies for it.”
As well as in the original court that made 700,000 won sentence on Paco Booyah, there was no explanation of why it was ‘obstruction of business,’ when he sat only 8 minutes in front of the naval base project building complex during the Catholic mass. He was sitting there to avoid hot sun lights while taking photos. There was absolutely no consideration on the illegality of naval base construction (destruction) even in violation of Environmental Impact Assessment, not to mention the navy’s thorough ignorance of democratic procedures.
Also, while the original court considered that it happened during his NGO peace activities, there was no consideration on it in the higher court.
Paco Booya applied for the Supreme Court decision right after the end of higher court decision.
Stop the oppression on international peace activists!
