mytest
Books, eBooks, and more from Debito Arudou, Ph.D. (click on icon):
UPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito
DEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free
“LIKE” US on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/debitoorg
https://www.facebook.com/embeddedrcsmJapan
http://www.facebook.com/handbookimmigrants
https://www.facebook.com/JapaneseOnlyTheBook
https://www.facebook.com/BookInAppropriate
If you like what you read and discuss on Debito.org, please consider helping us stop hackers and defray maintenance costs with a little donation via my webhoster:
All donations go towards website costs only. Thanks for your support!
Hi Blog. The Wishma Sandamali Criminal Case has sadly reached a predictable end: Japanese prosecutors have dropped their case against the people in charge of the Immigration “Gaijin Tank” Detention Center that killed her through negligence.
We’ve talked about the Sandamali Case here on Debito.org before, as we have the many other cases of death and destruction in Japan’s cruel Detention Centers. One of the reasons they remain so cruel is that they face no accountability, as seen here. And prosecutors declining to prosecute those who kill foreigners have been discussed at length in my book Embedded Racism, Chapter 6, “A ‘Chinaman’s Chance’ in Japanese Court” (with 2022 updates of more cases, including Sandamali’s, in the Second Edition).
The Civil Case for damages brought by the Sandamali family is ongoing. But I am not optimistic about justice being done there either. Debito Arudou, Ph.D.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Prosecutors drop case over death of detained Sri Lankan woman
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, June 17, 2022, courtesy of lots of people.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14647083
Public prosecutors will drop their case against senior officials from the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau over the death of a Sri Lankan woman at an immigration detention facility, according to sources.
Wishma Sandamali, 33, died in March 2021 at a facility run by the bureau, in a case that sparked widespread outcry over her mistreatment.
The Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office launched an investigation into whether the senior officials in charge at the time had committed murder or negligence as a guardian resulting in death, responding to criminal complaints against them from Wishma’s family and others.
Sources said the prosecutors office concluded it cannot establish criminal liability in this case following discussions with another prosecution office that is higher in rank.
The decision is expected to be communicated to those who made the criminal complaints, including Wishma’s family members, on June 17 at the earliest.
This will effectively end the investigation into criminal liability of the senior officials.
According to a report compiled by the Immigration Services Agency in August last year, Wishma came to Japan as a student in June 2017.
She was held at the detention facility after being arrested for overstaying her visa in August 2020.
Her health rapidly deteriorated in the facility and she started to complain about loss of appetite and nausea from mid-January 2021.
Her urine test showed that she was in a state of starvation on Feb. 15, 2021, 19 days before her death.
After that, she became even more ill and died on March 6, 2021.
The report admitted that Wishma died of an illness, but also said that “multiple factors might have caused her death and it is difficult to determine which one was the cause.”
Her family members maintain, however, that she would not have died had she received proper medical treatment, such as with an intravenous drip or hospitalization.
In November 2021, they lodged a criminal complaint with the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office against the then chief of the bureau, the person who acted as the chief guard at the detention facility on the day of her death, and other officials.
They argued that the officials committed murder thorough willful negligence and did not care if she died.
Earlier, in June 2021, a member of the teaching staff at a university in Nagoya had lodged a criminal complaint with the same district public prosecutors office against the bureau’s officials, alleging their conduct amounted to death through aggravated abandonment.
Wishma’s family members are also seeking around 156 million yen ($1.17 million) in damages from the state and that court case is still ongoing at the Nagoya District Court. ENDS
======================
Do you like what you read on Debito.org? Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org’s activities? Please consider donating a little something. More details here. Or if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.
4 comments on “Asahi: “Prosecutors drop case over death of detained Sri Lankan woman”, predictably ending Criminal Case brought by the family of Wishma Sandamali, and keeping Japan’s deadly “Gaijin Tanks” unaccountable”
Let’s see what happens next:
Inquest panel rules death of Wishma should be reinvestigated
Prosecutors to reopen probe against Nagoya immigration officials over Sri Lankan’s death / ウィシュマさん入管死 局長ら「不起訴不当」 検察審査会が議決
I agree with the attorney: “I’m glad the dates are set, but (the court’s decision) took too long.”
Court sets dates to show security video of Sri Lankan who died in Japan detention / ウィシュマさん入管死 監視映像5時間分、法廷で上映へ 名古屋地裁
Thanks to the lawyers for the family (and no thanks the GoJ!), the public can finally catch a glimpse into the plight of Wishma Sandamali before her demise:
Video of Sri Lankan who died in detention in Japan shown to public
Legal team releases video of detainee’s plight until her death
ウィシュマさんの映像、弁護団が公開 病院への搬送求める姿など映る
YouTube video:
ウィシュマさんの映像を公開 死亡前の様子、遺族側弁護団
Video clips of reporting on this turn of events by various J-news outlets:
亡くなる直前までの監視カメラ映像、遺族の弁護団が公開 ウィシュマさん入管死亡問題 (23/04/06 16:00)
【入管施設の映像公開】妹「頭から最後まで姉はずっと」 法相は“勝手に編集し公開”
法相、ウィシュマさん収容中の映像を問題視「勝手に編集し公開」 (23/04/07 18:51)
Sad and unsurprising:
Charges dropped again over death of detained Sri Lankan woman
ウィシュマさん死亡、当時の入管局長ら再び不起訴に 捜査は終結へ
ウィシュマさん死亡問題 当時の局長ら全員不起訴に(2023年9月30日)
【速報】入管施設収容中だったウィシュマさんが死亡した問題 名古屋地検が職員13人を再び「不起訴」 (23/09/29 16:35)