The first hearing in the Suraj case regarding state compensation claims at the High Court has ended.

Suraj's lawyers entering the High Court

The first hearing of the appeal trial was held on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 from 3:30 p.m.
This time, the plaintiff's wife made a statement of her opinion and her attorney explained the reasons for the appeal.
The defendant (government) then explained the reasons for appeal.

The plaintiff's grounds for appeal are
① The district court ruled that the acts of restraining Suraj, such as wrapping a towel around his mouth and forcing him into a leaning position, were illegal, but other acts were not illegal.
② The fact that Suraj was found 50% negligent for inducing the illegal act of restraint
3) The calculation method for compensation etc. is based on the Ghanaian standard
was given.

The defendant's grounds for appeal are
① The cause of Suraj's death was fatal arrhythmia caused by a pre-existing heart disease, and the district court ruling denied this.
② The actions of the immigration officials are not illegal under the State Compensation Act.
was given.

In his statement, the wife spoke of the pain of continuing the trial, the memories of her husband Suraj that she recalls at various times, and the sense of loss she feels. Some of the spectators were moved to tears by the wife's story.

The next, second hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 825 of the Tokyo High Court.
Appeal trials often end in a single hearing, but in Suraj's case, many spectators attended every hearing.
The court also recognizes that this is a case that requires a lot of attention, and it appears that it will take some time to deliberate on the matter.
Thank you for your continued cooperation in attending the hearings!

*The following is the actual opinion given by the attorneys in court (statement by Koichi Kodama, attorney for Suraj's legal team)
After this statement, there was applause from the audience.

Are you trying to say that Suraj's very existence was a mistake?
The first-instance ruling was a groundbreaking one in that it recognized a causal relationship between the immigration officials' restraint and Mr. Suraj's death.
However, the court also awarded 50% in contravention of negligence, stating that Suraj should have complied with the deportation order and that his failure to do so induced an illegal act.
Why should Suraj be blamed for refusing deportation because he wanted to be with his wife of over 20 years?
As shown by his victory in the first instance trial in the lawsuit over special residence permission, Suraj was someone who should not have been granted special residence permission.
It is not uncommon for people in similar cases to be granted special permission to stay through a procedure called a petition for retrial, even if they lose the trial. So it is only natural that Suraj would refuse deportation in order to live with his family.
It is clearly wrong to take this point into account, find negligence and reduce the amount of 50%.
In addition to this, we
* It was determined that handcuffing employees' legs, or using cable ties and towels, which are not permitted by the company's internal rules, were not illegal.
* All lost profits were calculated based on the Ghanaian standard
* Compensation for bereaved families was set at about one-fifth of that for Japanese people.
I think there's something strange about that.
These are the main reasons why we have filed an appeal.
I would also like to talk about the government's reasons for appeal.
Since the appeals court heard the case, the government has issued five new written opinions from medical experts and other specialists, and has translated and published numerous medical documents.
I believe that these expenses will exceed the 5 million yen compensation amount awarded in the first instance.
So what does the country want to protect?
Last October, a man died at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa. Yesterday, I went to the Ministry of Justice to preserve evidence and saw a video showing what happened before the man's death.
There, the man was seen moving slowly, despite staff members having gone to his room to see him vomiting and having convulsions, but no action was taken. Paramedics arrived about an hour after the incident.
In March of this year, an Iranian and a Cameroonian man disappeared in succession at the Immigration Bureau in Ushiku.
Things like this happen because we are unable to do something as simple as respecting people as people.
The Immigration Bureau has failed to learn any lessons from Suraj's case.
Suraj's case was also noted with concern by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva recently as a case of abuse resulting in death.
I believe that the High Court will make a decision that will guide the Immigration Bureau authorities to respect people as human beings, a very basic principle.
It's over.