FFWPU Europe and Middle East: Juraj Lajda's Shared Prison Experience With Holy Mother Han

As Mother Han has spent more than 100 days in a tiny detention cell, a former political prisoner from Czechia draws a striking parallel to his own experience of 3 years and 2 months in a communist prison

A reflection from Prague, Czechia by PhDr. Juraj Lajda (Doctor of Philosophy), lecturer and publisher, former political prisoner under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Artistic impression of Mother Han in detention cell. See also 18 Survived Years in Communist Illustration: Grok xAI Prison, 1 Did Not

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As we write 4th January 2026, Mother Han ‒ called “True Mother” by many ‒ has been in pretrial detention in Seoul for more than 100 days. All hopes for her release have so far gone unfulfilled. She is enduring circumstances that few can truly imagine unless they have Had vivid and intense dream: PhD. Juraj Lajda experienced them firsthand. Oct. 15, 2007 I deeply wish to express my support and to be close to her. The truest way would have been in person ‒ to meet her, to stand by her side, and even to endure the same suffering she is facing, to take her place in the detention cell if that were possible.

But this is not possible. I live in Prague, and we are separated by great physical distance. Even entering her cell in Seoul Detention Center is beyond reach. The power of prayer alone cannot bring my physical body to her side.

Before Christmas, however, I had a very special, vivid, and intense dream. In this dream, I found myself

in the detention center where True Mother is being held. She approached me and embraced me warmly. This was not merely a physical embrace, but an inner one ‒ rooted in deep understanding and profound empathy, where no words were needed. Words so often lead to misunderstanding, yet in this moment, without words, we understood each other completely. It was a state of inner resonance ‒ resonance between two souls in harmony, on the same frequency. In such a state, a single look is enough to convey meaning, feeling, and closeness.

This deep sense of empathy arose from my own experience more than 50 years ago, when I went through circumstances similar to those True Mother faces now. I, too, lived through a time of persecution and danger.

More than half a century ago, under a communist regime in what was then called Czechoslovakia, I experienced severe persecution. Along with 18 other members of the Family Federation there, I was sentenced to several years in prison on fabricated and false charges. The situation created a profound sense of shared understanding and belonging with True Mother ‒ an understanding born of having faced the same threatening and oppressive environment.

In this way, I received an answer to my question and a fulfillment of my desire: how to express my support for True Mother and draw close to her during this time.

Where Dr. Lajda was imprisoned from 1973 to 1976 - the Palace of Justice in Bratislava, Slovakia

I want her to know that I am with her and thinking of her ‒ not only in the general sense, as millions around the world surely are ‒ but in a deeper way. I want to convey that I understand her feelings, her experience, her disappointments, and the realities of daily life in the detention center, because I lived through them myself more than 50 years ago. In total, I spent three years and two months in prison, including one year in pretrial detention.

We were accused of subverting the republic because of our faith in and devotion to True Parents, and for spreading ideas deemed anti-Marxist. In our search for truth, we inevitably came into conflict with communist laws.

Similarly, I believe that True Mother now pursues a path toward world peace and is being unjustly persecuted for doing so.

Under communist regimes, the persecution of religious leaders was, to a certain extent, expected. However, it is deeply troubling that in a democratic country such as the Republic of Korea, religious persecution can still occur, and believers can be put behind bars.

In conclusion, I wish to affirm my faith and conviction that True Mother knows I am with her. I wish that this closeness were not only experienced in a dream, but also in reality. At the same time, I hold firm hope and belief that she will be released from detention soon.

See also: Peaceful Worship Treated as Crime in China

Text: Dr. Juraj Lajda

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targeting their claimed benchmarking of tactics

-·- The maj o r South Korean daily Ch osu n llbo pu blished 8 th January an article by Search… re porter Yu hee-gon (-\l-Qj i”J w ith the headline “ [Exclusive] Did the Th e logo of the Chosun /Ibo Unification Church a nd Sh incheo nji

Benchmark Each Other? Prosecutors and Police to Investigate Both Religions”. Categories See also Korea: Can Religion and Politics Be Disentangled?

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See also State Failure and Non-State Peace Projects Send us a message See also Shared Prison Experience: Resonance of Two Souls First Name * Last Name

In ea rly January 2026, South Korean auth orities announced a significant expansion of an ongoing investigation into t he intersection of relig ion and polit ics. What bega n as a probe into t he Fam ily Federation (forme rly the Unification Chu rch) - an Email * • int ernationally known Korean-founded religious movement - has now widened to include Shincheonji (,t! ‘t!A() [See edit or’s note below]. another new religious group Email Address founded in South Korea . The move has become one of the top media stories in the country claiming that certain religious organizations may have systematically attempted to influence nationa l elections, polit ical parties, and lawmakers through Your Message *

coord inated membership drives, financial lobbying, and informal networks of power.

For Western aud iences, the story requires some Submit background. South Korea has a vibrant relig ious landscape that includes not on ly Hok Ja Han (~§/XI, also called Lee Man-hee (0/f!!.§/J, Mother Han, in Mun ich, Germany mainstream founder a nd ch a irman of 19th May 2024 . Photo: Screenshot Christianity and Shincheonji (New Heaven from HJ Glob al News 25t h May Buddhism but and Earth). Photo: MBC PD’r 2024/ FFWPU ?lf I Wikimedia Commons. a lso a number License: CC Attr 3.0 Unp of homegrown “n ew religious movements”. According t o t he Chosun llbo, “two of South Korea’s most representative new relig ious movements” are the Fa m ily Federation - led by its co-founder Hak Ja Han (~ §/:q _ 82) - and Shincheonj i [See editor’s note below]. led by its founder and cha irman, Lee Man-hee (O (\’_tQj - 95). Both groups have become subjects of extensive probes by specia l prosec utors appointed by the current Lee admin istration in order to invest igate all eged unlawful acts by the former Yoon admin istration and groups claimed to have supported him.

The current investigation is being led by a joint task force of prosecutors a nd police, formed to examine allegations of “politics-religion collusion”. Authorities say t hey are looking into w hether these groups provided unlaw ful funds or favors to polit icians, and w hether they organized their follow ers to join political part ies en masse in order to sway int ernal party primaries. Such practices, while not always illegal on their face, may violate election laws or politica l finance regulat ions if carried out in a coordinated and deceptive manner.

A key theme emerging from the current invest igation is the apparent parallel - and possible mutual imitation - between the Family Federation and Shincheonji [See ed itor’s note below]. Accord ing to investigative Imitating the Family Federation? Here, the Shincheonji (tf {‘/X/J reporting by Peace Palace in Cheongpyeong-myeon, on the sa me lake Chosun llbo, South where the Family Federation has la rge facilities, in Gapyeong, Korea’s largest Gyeonggi-d o, Sou th Korea. Photo /2020 ): Jhcbs7079 I Wikimed ia conservative Commons. License: CC ASA 4.0 Int newspaper, Shincheonj i’s leadership long v iewed the Family Federation as a “success model” among new religions: a group t hat grew from a fringe movement into a g loba l organ ization with political access, financial resources, and international influence. At the same time. the Familv Federatio n is now accused of havino adopted tactics

similar to those Shincheonji [See editor’s note below] was p reviously suspected of using, particu larly in relation to e lection interference.

The Chosun l lbo writes that this overlap is documented in internal Family Federation materials known as the “TM (True Mother) Reports”, thousands of pages o f report s compiled by senior Federation officials for Chairwoman Hak Ja Han (~§!Af). In these documents, according to the large daily, Shincheonji [See ed itor’s note below] is mentioned dozens of times, often as a point of comparison or competition. One report expl icitly notes that Sh incheonji had been “benchmarking” the Family Federation. The report also suggests that internal turmoil within Shincheonji [See ed itor’s note below] - particularly the defection of a high-ranking female leader - represented a critica l turning point for the group.

That former Shincheonji leader, Kim Nam-hee (fl hl<>IJ, plays an important rote in the broader narrative. Once regarded as second on ly to Lee Man-hee (01’2!<>11. Kim left the organ ization in 2017 and later became a voca l crit ic, accusing Shincheonji’s leadersh ip of A closure order put up by the public health authorities at the financial main entrance of the Daegu branch of Shincheonji at the start misconduct and of the Corona epidemic in 2020, when the Shincheonji Church of abuse of power. Jesus faced intense scrutiny and persecution - rooted more in Her allegations stigma than purely public health concerns. It happened after a contributed to woman, later dubbed “Patient 37’: attended two services in criminal Daegu at Shincheonji’s regional branch. She unknowingly complaints became a super-spreader, infecting dozens of worshippers in aga inst Lee, who tightly packed masses. Photo: Namoroka I Wikimedia was eventua lly Commons. License: CC ASA .0 Int convicted - though on narrower charges than initially alleged - related to embezz lement and obstr uction of public hea lth efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The politica l d imension of Shincheonji’s activ it ies has been controversial for more than a decade. Critics a ll ege that the g roup systematically encouraged its members to join conservative political parties under false pretenses, then vote as a bloc in party primaries. The goal, according to these clai ms, was not ideological al ignment b ut strategic influence: ensuring that candidates perceived as friend ly or non-hosti le to the group would advance. Similar allegations surfaced dur ing the election s that brought former Presidents Lee Myung-bak (OI ‘i’J ~) and Park Geun-hye (~2-oil) to power, though investigations at the t ime did not resu lt i n major prosecutions.

These accusations resurfaced with renewed force during the 2022 presidential e lection. Shincheonj i [See editor’s note be low] is suspected of having mobil ized large numbers of mem bers to joi n the conservative People Power Party ahead of its internal primary. One losing candidate later alleged that as many as 100,000 Shincheonji followers became voting party members as part of an informal quid pro q uo involving prosecutorial leniency toward the g roup. Whi le these cla ims remain contested, they have placed Shincheonj i back under official scrutiny for the first time in several years.

T he Fami ly Federation, meanwhile, faces its own legal troubles, largely stemming from the years that Yoon Yeong-ho (oll-’i’J.2.) held a key leadership position. Prosecutors allege that Federation officials provided unlawful politica l fund ing and organ izational support to the conservative p residential campaign in 2022.

U nlike earlier Sh incheonji cases [See editor’s note below], these a ll egations have already resu lted in indict ments, a n d court p roceedings are ongoing. T he irony, highlighted by Chosun tlbo, is that in the realm of pol itical Yoon Yeong-ho, Dec 6, 2020. Screenshot from intervention, Shincheonji appears to have p ioneered Peace/ink TV certain methods before Yoon Yeong-ho of the Family Federation later adopted sim ilar approaches - raising questions about whether the “benchmarking” may have run in both d irections.

The political fallout has been im mediate. As police recently uncovered evidence suggesting the Family Federation also lobbied lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party, President Lee Jae-myung (OI XH Ill) ordered the creation of a broader joint investigative task force that includes Shincheonji [See editor’s note below]. Opposition pa rties, however, argue that expanding the probe is a strategic distraction - an attempt to dilute scrutiny of all eged lobbying involvi ng ruling-party figures by lumping m ult ip le relig ious organizations together. They are calling for an independent specia l prosecutor to ensure polit ical neutrality.

What is already clear, however, is that the huge investigation with hundreds of investigators and police involved has implications that extend well beyond any sing le religious organization. More churches have been ra ided by police and are under investigation. Pastor Son Hyun-bo (ic’~.’i’.). the head of a large Christian megachurch, has been held in detention since ea rly September, in the same detention center w here Hak Ja Han, t he co-founder of the Family Federation, has been detained for more than 100 days in a t iny cell.

See a/so Religion Between Engagement and Withdrawal Pastor Son Hyun-bo, here August 2025. Photo: Bitter See a/so Korea: Can Religion and Politics Be Winter Disentangled?

See also Climate of Suspicion: Peace Reframed as Politics

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See also: Peaceful Worship Treated as Crime in China

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Feat ured image above: Imitating the Family Federation ‘s World Culture and Sports Festival? On 16th September 2072, Shinchonji hosted its own World Peace Festival - the 6th Shincheonji National Olympiad in Olympic Stadium in Seoul. Photo: Junganghansik I Wikimedia Commons. License: CC ASA 3.0 Unp

[Editor’s note: Shincheonji, officia lly known as Shincheonji Church ofJesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, is a new relig ious movement founded in South Korea in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the promised pastor mentioned in t he Bible’s Book of Revelation. Sh incheonji t eaches t hat the Book of Revelation is being fulfi lled through its church and that Lee Man-hee has rece ived d ivine reve lation to interpret it.]

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See a/so Likely Long Legal Battle Ahead for Mother Han

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See a/so Trial Day 1: Mother Han Denies All Allegations

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