RUSSIA: PROSECUTOR CROSS-EXAMINES MISSIONARY PARK TAE-YEON ABOUT RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES AND BELIEFS AS TRIAL VERDICT DELAYED AGAIN
Korean missionary Park Tae-Yeon was cross-examined in court by prosecutors Thursday, with about 70 percent of prosector’s questions related to the missionary’s religious activities and beliefs. That’s according to persecution watchdog organization Voice of the Martyrs Korea, which says that the cross-examination of Missionary Park will resume on September 22, with a verdict in the case now not expected until October 8.
The missionary has been detained in an immigration detention center since January, one week before she was set to return to Korea for her retirement. She could receive up to seventeen years in prison on three immigration-related charges. A co-defendant, Russian national Zinaida Ustinova, who is thought to be a friend of the missionary, faces similar charges in the case but has not been detained. A verdict in the case was originally expected in early August, but multiple delays in the availability of court staff, as well as a request from prosecutors last week to present new evidence in the case, have extended the trial schedule.
According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO the Rev. Dr. Eric Foley, only about 30 percent of the prosecutor’s cross-examination questions to Missionary Park and Ms. Ustinova related to the immigration charges.
“The prosecutor and judge were aggressively questioning the defendants about various religious groups, including Child Evangelism Fellowship, the Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), and a few others—what they do, how they differ, what are their core beliefs, and so on,” says Pastor Foley.
“They asked what specifically the groups pray about, what they preach, what rules they instill, and what the spreading of evangelical Christian doctrine entails. They asked what the ‘Great Commission’ is.
Pastor Foley says that in response to objections that the questions were unrelated to the immigration charges, the judge said she would evaluate everything in coming to a verdict.
Ms. Park Tae-yeon has been living with a sincere love for the country of Russia and its people since she arrived there in 1993.
“The questioning appears to be directed toward determining whether the defendants have what Russian authorities consider to be ‘extremist’ beliefs—things like believing that only their own religion is true and other religions are evil, or that they don’t have to obey the laws of the country where they are working,” says Pastor Foley. “Rather than just asking these questions directly, authorities often ask defendants general questions about their beliefs, and then the authorities judge the answers for themselves.”
Pastor Foley says that earlier in the trial, the court received written testimony from a mother who claimed that her daughter had started behaving strangely after staying at Missionary Park’s house. News reports in January about the missionary’s arrest alleged that Missionary Park, a child evangelist, had been brainwashing children, forcing them to memorize the Bible and making plans to take the children out of Russia. Then in July, Child Evangelism Fellowship, the mission organization associated with Missionary Park, was added to the Russian Federation’s list of undesirable organizations, though no connection was made publicly between the designation and Missionary Park’s arrest.
Voice of the Martyrs Korea have been critical of Russian media reports portraying Missionary Park and Child Evangelism Fellowship as brainwashing or pressuring children.
“Child Evangelism Fellowship has been operating around the world for more than 75 years, and they openly share their methods of evangelism through their website and books and training programs,” says Pastor Foley. “They have extensive training programs to ensure that children are never pressured or coerced, and they make sure that the wishes of children’s parents or guardians are always followed.”
Pastor Foley says the videos released by Russian media which allegedly show Ms. Park and others interacting with children in Bible-related activities disprove the allegations of coercion.
“When you watch the videos, you don’t see tired children being brainwashed. You see children laughing and having a great time,” says Pastor Foley. “Child Evangelism Fellowship always says that children have a right to hear the gospel if they desire. That is one of many religious freedoms that Russia is gradually taking away from its citizens, and they are hiding that from the international community by accusing Christians of evil intentions and by imprisoning Ms. Park instead of letting her return home to retire after 33 years of genuine, caring service to the people of Russia.”
Voice of Martyrs Korea has been advocating for Missionary Park since her arrest in Khabarovsk, Russia on January 15, one week before she was scheduled to return home to Korea to retire at age 70. Authorities fined the missionary for overstaying her visa, despite the overstay being due to her detainment by Russian authorities. She is currently being held at a immigration detention center for foreigners in Khabarovsk.
An online petition posted by Voice of the Martyrs Korea from February to April garnered more than 4,000 signatures from Korea, along with more than 1,000 signatures from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Africa, Finland, Zimbabwe, Poland, Hungary, Indonesia, Romania, Nigeria, Scotland, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
In April, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representatives Dr Hyun Sook Foley and CEO Pastor Eric Foley delivered the petition to the Russian Embassy in Seoul, calling for the missionary’s immediate release. Copies of the petition were also sent to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.