Just received this from Tom Coyner – a circular email sent by campaigner for DPRK human rights Dr Norbert Vollertsen.
Coming back from Thailand after taking care for arrested North Korean refugees and South Korean activists there here in downtown Seoul I was attacked by a street gang and knocked down in the middle of the road.
After other cars slowly passed by I was intentionally run over (the driver even stared at me out of his window – in order to make a better hit ?) by a taxi, the wheels precisely running over my left knee and foot.
Later I was accused by the police and some “eyewitnesses” (the guys who knocked me down ?) that I had been totally drunken, that I had been lying there on the middle of the road (sleeping?) and that it was all my fault.
Of course I was not drunken, had to give a speech about North Korea that morning (and gave – standing on crutches) and – wearing a cast – now suffer from a broken foot and ruptured ligaments, a knee distorsion and multiple haematoma.
And a later follow-up to Tom from Vollertsen:
I just got another visit by Namdaemun police who were only concerned about media coverage…
Comments at the Marmot’s Hole portray Dr Vollertsen as a loony, while the Korea Liberator is more supportive.
Coyner comments as follows:
Vollertson has suffered much greater physical abuse in S Korea than when he was in N Korea — albeit once he was openly attacked by N Korean agents at an international sports event in the ROK.
Well, it now looks like he has something in common with Kim Dae-Jung. He has survived an assassination attempt by automobile. DJ being a classier sort of guy, of course, was attacked by a luxury automobile, while Vollertson was hit by a mere taxi.
No particular comment to make myself. This is one of my random “news scrapbook” items. I’m just posting this to make sure I don’t lose it.