We have filed a lawsuit for state compensation in the case of Mr. Suraj.

Regarding the case of Mr. Suraj, a Ghanaian national who died last year while being deported at government expense, a lawsuit seeking state compensation was filed on the morning of Friday, August 5, 2011. Mr. Suraj's wife and mother are the plaintiffs, seeking damages from the government and the nine immigration officers who accompanied him during his deportation.

Normally, only the state would be a defendant, but documents that emerged during the preservation of evidence revealed that immigration officers used cable ties (which are not recognized as restraints) that they had purchased at their own expense on Ms. Suraj during her deportation, and that they stopped filming the deportation process midway through, even though they were videotaping it. These actions could be interpreted as intentional assault rather than mere negligence, so both the state and the immigration officers should be held responsible.

Incidentally, when the motion for preservation of evidence was filed, the Ministry of Justice initially refused to provide the interview materials and other documents concerning the immigration officers in question. However, a groundbreaking disclosure order from the court subsequently led to the release of the documents, revealing the actions of the immigration officers as described above. Clearly, the Ministry of Justice was trying to conceal these crucial facts.

In the afternoon, we held a press conference at the Tokyo Judicial Reporters Club regarding the aforementioned lawsuit. Many journalists attended the conference, including reporters from overseas media such as The Economist.