Mr. Abubakar Awudu Suraj was found dead during his deportation on March 22nd, after being forced onto the plane in handcuffs and gagged by a towel.
Regarding to this incident, Suraj’s widow, a friend, APFS Representative Jotaro Kato and other APFS staff held negotiations with the Immigration Bureau. The meeting was made possible owing to the cooperation of Ryouichi Hukube, a member of the House of Representatives. Five officials from the Immigration Bureau were in attendance.
APFS and the family of the deceased emphasized the following:
1. Circumstances regarding Suraj’s death should be made clear.
2. Expenses for Suraj’s widow to accompany the body to Ghana should be provided.
3. The refusals to allow Suraj a retrial should be explained.
With regard to 1 above, we learned that
*Ten officials accompanied Suraj on his deportation from Narita.
* The towel used during his deportation belonged to Immigration Bureau staff.
Immigration Bureau officials repeatedly stated that they “cannot provide any details about the incident due to their cooperation with police investigation.
Although APFS explained that Suraj‘s family just wants to know how and why he died, they refused to answer.
With regard to 2 above, the Bureau responded that
* They will provide only for the expense of shipping Suraj’s body.
*They will not pay for travel expenses for Suraj’s widow.
We at APFS believe that it is Suraj’s widow’s right to accompany the body of her husband and ensure that it makes its destination safely. Therefore, neither APFS nor Suraj’s widow can consent to the Bureau’s refusal to provide for her passage. We intend to press them again with regard to this issue.
With regard to 3 above,
The Immigration Bureau informed us that, they had refused to allow Suraj a retrial based on the High Court decision over Suraj’s case .
Unfortunately, detailed information relating to the truth behind this case has not yet been made public. APFS will do all we can to find out more about what really happened in this incident.
