Seoul, July 16 (IANS) South Korean former President Yoon Suk Yeol has filed for a review of the legality of his arrest, his lawyers said Wednesday, beginning a process to regain his freedom a week after being placed in custody over his failed attempt to impose martial law.
The petition was filed with the Seoul Central District Court to point out the arrest was “illegal” and “unjust,” both substantively and procedurally, the lawyers said in a statement to the press.
By law, the court is required to question the suspect and study evidence within 48 hours after the request is filed before deciding on whether the arrest was legal and should remain in place, Yonhap news agncy reported.
Depending on the outcome, Yoon could be released from the Seoul Detention Center, where he has been held since last Thursday after a court issued a warrant for his arrest over five key charges related to his martial law bid.
Yoon took similar steps in January after his first arrest.
At the time, his detention was deemed legal, but a later request to cancel his arrest was accepted by the court, granting his release in March.
Earlier, a special counsel team made a second attempt on Tuesday to bring in former President Yoon Suk Yeol from his detention cell for questioning over his martial law bid.
The team led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk has asked the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, to bring Yoon to its interrogation room by 2 p.m.
The former president has refused to comply with repeated summonses by the special counsel team since his second arrest last Thursday.
–IANS
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