
On March 22, 2010, Abubakar Awudu Suraj (hereinafter referred to as Suraj), a Ghanaian national, died while being deported at government expense. In December of the same year, ten immigration officers who accompanied him during the deportation were referred to prosecutors on suspicion of aggravated assault and abuse resulting in death by a public official.
On July 3, 2012, two years and four months after the incident, the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict the ten officials due to insufficient evidence. The decision was made that Suraj's death was caused by a pre-existing heart condition and that there was no causal relationship between it and the restraint used by immigration officers during his deportation (excessive restraint using unauthorized restraints).
Despite the initial uncertainty regarding the cause of death, we have serious doubts about the discovery of Suraj's heart condition, which the prosecution attributed to the incident more than two years later. Even if he did have a heart condition, it is highly unlikely that it developed completely unrelated to the restraint. The fact that immigration officers themselves stopped videotaping the deportation process suggests that the restraint was so excessive and brutal that it could not be recorded.
It is clear that the actions of the immigration officer warrant prosecution. I am convinced that the decision not to prosecute was due to leniency and distortion of the facts by the prosecution, who were essentially their own people. Suraj's family is also demanding severe punishment. We ask for your signatures to help us request the Prosecution Review Board to carefully review this case and decide to order a mandatory prosecution.
The signature form can be downloaded from the link below (PDF).
Consolidated by: ASIAN PEOPLE'S FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY (APFS)
56-6-301 Oyama-Higashi-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo
FAX: 03-3579-0197
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