This screenshot taken from a video of a United Nations press conference shows Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana speaking on North Korea's human rights situation on Oct. 23, 2019.
The U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation has renewed calls for North Korea to release political prisoners.
Tomas Ojea Quintana made the appeal in a tweet following Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's decision earlier this week to pardon over 100 political prisoners and activists who had been exiled or imprisoned.
Using North Korea's official name, the Quintana wrote on Wednesday, "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea should follow suit. Once again, I urge the Government to release political prisoners, specially older, ill and undernourished, persons with disabilities, children, pregnant and lactating mothers and nursing parents."
The North Korean regime has long been accused of being one of the worst human rights violators as it does not tolerate dissent, tightly controls outside information and holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps.
A report by Amnesty International in January said the North is presumed to be running four political prisons where torture and various human rights violations are being committed.
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