A Boston man has been sentenced to eight years in a North Korean gulag after illegally crossing the border into the communist country.
Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a 30-year-old English teacher who had been working in Seoul, South Korea, is the fourth U.S. citizen to have been arrested for trespassing in the last year.
He was said to have acknowledged his wrongdoing at Pyongyang’s Central Court on Tuesday, reported North Korea’s official news agency in a brief dispatch.
Gomes was sentenced to eight years of “hard labor” and fined $700,000 for the illegal entry, which took place on Jan. 25.
Thaleia Schlesinger, spokeswoman for Gomes’ family, said in Boston that they were “disturbed” by the verdict.
“The family has no comment beyond that they are praying for him and hoping for his return home as soon as possible,” she said.
“Needless to say, they are disturbed [by the sentence] but they are hopeful that he would be returned home to them and they are praying for that.”
It is unclear what may have motivated Gomes to enter the country. Seoul-based activist Jo Sung-rae said that he may have been inspired by the actions of Robert Park—who crossed the border into the country last Christmas to highlight the lack of human rights under the communist regime. He was released after 40 days.
Analysts said that Gomes may too be released soon as Pyongyang is keen to improve relations with the United States.
“The North is not going to hold him for eight years,” professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul’s Dongguk University told AFP news agency.
“It is likely to suspend the implementation of the sentence and expel him as a goodwill gesture toward the United States.”
A spokesman for the State Department did not immediately comment on the verdict.
