MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) — Amnesty International condemned on Friday the decision by South Korean's Constitutional Court to ban the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) for its alleged sympathy toward Pyongyang, as a violation of basic freedoms of expression and association.
"The ban on the UPP raises serious questions as to the authorities' commitment to freedom of expression and association," Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International, was quoted as saying in the NGO’s statement.
She also pointed to the fact that the South Korean government has tightened its grip on political opponents.
Earlier on Friday, the South Korean Constitutional Court with the majority votes approved the government's application to disband the UPP as well as prevent the establishment of a similar political orientation party.
"The genuine goal and the activities of the UPP are to achieve progressive democracy and to finally adopt North Korea-style socialism," the President of the Constitutional Court of Korea, Park Han-Cheol said in his televised speech, as cited by the Yonhap news agency.
He also added that there was no other option to deal with the UPP other than to ban it "as the party causes real harm", the news agency reported.
The ruling came after the arrest of several UPP members in September 2013, including parliamentarian Lee Seok-Ki, who was accused of plotting to overthrow the government in the event of a war with North Korean.
In February 2014, two of the accused UPP members were found guilty and sentenced, with trials pending in the other cases.
