Day of Judgement – Mr. Suraj’s case

スラジュさんの絵

The painting by Mr. Suraj

Date & time: Wednesday, March, 19th, 2014 10:30am~ *Only in Japanese
Place:Tokyo District Court, Court Room #103 ※Please directly come to the court.
(Tokyo Metro “Kasumigaseki” station A1 exit)

On March 22, 2010, Ghanaian citizen Abubakar Awudu Suraj, died as he was being deported from Japan. The deportation was carried out without Suraj’s consent and at government expense. Moreover, it is known that Immigration Department officials accompanying him used unauthorized items—such as handcuffs on legs, a towel, and nylon ties—to restrain him before he died.

The Ministry of Justice and the Immigration Bureau have not yet provided an official explanation as to how and why Suraj died. On August 5, 2011—in order to get closer to the truth behind Suraj’s death—Suraj’s widow launched a lawsuit claiming damages against the Japanese government and Immigration Department officials. Suraj regretted that he overstayed his visa, but he only wanted to live in Japan with his wife. Through this lawsuit, we aim to bring to light exactly why Suraj had to die.

The next hearing is the judgement finally. Through this trial, the fact became clear that reality of deportation was cruel, and that immigration official’s awareness of human rights was very low level. And we doubted the second autopsy report that established Mr. Suraj’s cause of death more than ever before. Please come to hear directly how the court will determine.