Alek Sigley’s family say they have no confirmation of reports he has been detainedAustralian student reportedly arrested in North Korea out of contact since Tuesday, family sayThe family of an Australian man reportedly detained in North Korea say they have not heard from him since Tuesday, but that they have not received confirmation that he has been arrested by the repressive regime. Reports emerged on Thursday that Alek Sigley, a 29-year-old living and studying in Pyongyang, had been arrested in North Korea. The company’s website is advertising a summer language program in North Korea due to begin on Saturday. “It’s not as if there is any judicial process that happens independently of politics in North Korea,” he said. “Not only living there but tweeting and writing columns and, while he was not hostile to North Korea or politicising, it’s a relevant fact that North Korea takes a very specific and direct dislike to people it deems to be journalists and correspondents.

Source: The Guardian June 27, 2019 00:01 UTC