Thursday, March 25, 2010

Boston man detained by North Koreans

A Boston man detained in North Korea is a quiet, devout Christian, who was so concerned about American missionary Robert Park held in Pyongyang that he was moved to tears at rallies, fellow activists said yesterday.

North Korea announced earlier this week that Aijalon Mahli Gomes, 30, would stand trial after entering the country illegally. Gomes, a Boston native who graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, had been in South Korea for several years teaching English.


It was not immediately clear why Gomes went to North Korea, allegedly on January 25th. However, activists in Seoul said he was an acquaintance of Robert Park, a fellow Christian who crossed into North Korea on Christmas Day in a bold bid to draw attention to the country’s human rights situation.

Jo Sung-rae of Pax Koreana in Seoul said Gomes, who contacted him in November about working with his rights group, met Park in Seoul last summer.

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