Detention of Alek Sigley

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Alek Sigley
Born (1989-11-03) 3 November 1989 (age 34)
EducationKim Il-sung University (not completed)
Occupations
  • Tour guide
  • Blogger
Years active2013–2019
Known forArrest and detention by North Korea
Detainment
Country North Korea
Detained25 June 2019
ChargeEspionage
Released4 July 2019
Korean name
Hangul
알레크씨글리
Revised RomanizationAllekeu Ssigeulli
McCune–ReischauerAllek'ŭ Ssigŭlli

Alek Sigley (Korean: 알레크 씨글리) is an Australian national who was detained in North Korea in 2019 on espionage charges.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life[edit]

Sigley's father is Australian and his mother is Chinese.[6][7] He finished school in Perth, Australia.[7]

Sigley is fluent in Chinese, Japanese and Korean, holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies and philosophy from the Australian National University, and has also studied at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Fudan University and Sogang University.[8]

North Korea[edit]

Sigley visited the country as an exchange student in 2012.[7] Sigley decided to start his own tour company on his fifth visit to North Korea in 2013.[9][6][10][11] Sigley's tour company set itself apart from others by offering language classes from 2016 onwards.[9] The first was held after the detention of Otto Warmbier, with Sigley in attendance as one of the participants.[12]

In May 2018, he married his Japanese wife in Pyongyang.[6][13] Guests of the wedding included South Korean celebrities Nikolai Johnsen and Carlos Gorito and Russian scholar Andrei Lankov.[citation needed] Sigley is said to have travelled to North Korea at least ten times before electing to enroll in tertiary education there.[9]

In an article written for The Guardian, Sigley recounted that on Tuesday 25 June, he was approached in the internet room of the university's dormitory while he was finishing off homework about a North Korean short story ahead of an afternoon class, and ordered to attend a meeting. He was then ushered into a black Mercedes Benz, which took him to an undisclosed location, where he was detained for nine days in a room with no clock, completely cut off from the outside world, where he was made to write forced confessions to "crimes" he allegedly committed during his time studying in the country. When he was finally released from detention, he was made to read a "letter of apology" confessing to "threatening world peace", "infringing upon the sovereignty of the DPRK", among other heinous acts, while acknowledging that his human rights had been respected.[14]

Swedish politician Kent Härstedt was responsible for negotiating the release of Sigley.[15] Upon being released from detention, Sigley travelled to Beijing, then Tokyo.[16][17] Before his expulsion from North Korea, Sigley was particularly keen on sharing photos of his trips on his tour company website[12][18][19] and blogging about his experiences on the same website as well as news outlets such as The Guardian's opinion section and NK News.[20][21] It has been suggested his contributions to NK News might have been the reason for his detention.[22] NK News have denied this.[23] After being released from detention, Sigley announced that his tour company would no longer be offering tours to the country.[citation needed] His business partner Michelle Joyce noted that their tour company hoped to re-establish tours to the country in the future.[24] She also believed Sigley intends to return to North Korea.[25]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Petrov, Leonid (6 July 2019). "Luck had nothing to do with Alek Sigley's escape from North Korea". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  2. ^ Taylor, Paige (4 July 2019). "Missing Australian student Alek Sigley freed from detention in North Korea, now safe and out of country". The Australian. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Australia warns released student Alek Sigley not to return to North Korea". The Straits Times. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Alek Sigley: Australian student released from North Korea". The Guardian. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Alek Sigley: North Korea accuses Australian of 'spying'". BBC. 6 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Böge, Friederike (27 June 2019). "Vom Regime fühlte er sich nie bedroht". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Evans, Steve (27 June 2019). "The mystery of Alek Sigley - from 'Dullsville' to China to Canberra to Pyongyang". Canberra Times. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Alek Sigley". Asia Literary Agency. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Jeppesen, Travis (2018). "Two". See you again in Pyongyang: A journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea (First ed.). Hachette. ISBN 978-0-316-50913-8.
  10. ^ Jeppesen, Travis (2018). "Four". See you again in Pyongyang: A journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea (First ed.). Hachette. ISBN 978-0-316-50913-8.
  11. ^ Jeppesen, Travis (2018). "Thirty-seven". See you again in Pyongyang: A journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea (First ed.). Hachette. ISBN 978-0-316-50913-8.
  12. ^ a b Jeppesen, Travis (2018). "Eight". See you again in Pyongyang: A journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea (First ed.). Hachette. ISBN 978-0-316-50913-8.
  13. ^ "Alarm in Australia after lost contact with student in North Korea". The National.
  14. ^ Sigley, Alek. "'You think Trump will save you?': my nine days detained by North Korea's secret police". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  15. ^ Magnusson, Erik (1 September 2019). "Så gick det till när Kent Härstedt förhandlade loss Alek Sigley från nordkoreansk fångenskap". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Australian student missing in North Korea released from detention". Oman Daily Observer. 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Australian student 'very happy' in Tokyo after North Korea detention". DNA India. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  18. ^ Jeppesen, Travis (2018). "Thirty". See you again in Pyongyang: A journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea (First ed.). Hachette. ISBN 978-0-316-50913-8.
  19. ^ Jeppesen, Travis (2018). "Thirty-two". See you again in Pyongyang: A journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea (First ed.). Hachette. ISBN 978-0-316-50913-8.
  20. ^ Sigley, Alek (31 March 2019). "I'm the only Australian living in North Korea. Let me tell you about it". TheGuardian.com.
  21. ^ Sigley, Alek (9 January 2019). "From Perth to Pyongyang: my life as an Aussie student at Kim Il Sung University".
  22. ^ Hennessy, Annabel (7 July 2019). "Fears for friends of Perth man Alek Sigley left behind in North Korea". The West Australian. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  23. ^ "NK News statement on release of Alek Sigley". NK News. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Australian freed in N. Korea keeps mum about detention". Associated Press. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  25. ^ Henry, Renae (5 July 2019). "Alek Sigley: Friend of Australian who disappeared in North Korea believes he'll return". 9News.
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