Religious leaders in Fiji are making strong appeals to the South Korean government to release Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old Chairman of Shincheonji Church, which remains in detention, on 16 July, South Sea Lautoka, Fiji. Religious leaders read and signed the statement in Joint Statement Signing Ceremony.

Chairman Lee was detained on 24 June on charges including violations of the Political Parties Act and was indicted on 29 June.

The Joint Police–Prosecution Investigation Headquarters alleges that, between July 2021 and January 2024, he directed the mass registration of approximately 50,000 church members into a particular political party.

In response, Shincheonji Church stated that individual members participated in political activities with free will and that both Chairman Lee and the church have faithfully cooperated throughout the entire investigation process, including the searches and seizures.

Scholars of Religion and Experts of Human Rights in Europe state that detaining an elderly person over non-violent allegations violates the International Law.

“And what Korea is doing to this elderly religious leader is in violation of international law, including the United Nations’ so-called Mandela Rules, which mandate that preliminary detention should be, in general, not the rule, and only in an extremely limited number of exceptional cases may be applied to elderly prisoners. So what is happening is an unmitigated scandal, which hides a political and religious vendetta.”

Dr. Massimo Introvigne, a sociologist of religion and the Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR)

Shincheonji church noted that “As support and petitions from prominent figures in the international community continue to grow regarding the detention of Chairman Lee, pressure on the South Korea government and the judiciary is also mounting.” “The prompt release of chairman Lee is a matter of safeguarding freedom of religious and human rights, which are core values of democracy.”