Suraj case: second hearing of appeal hearing ends

The second hearing of the appeal hearing for the Suraj case was held at 10:30 on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 in Tokyo High Court, courtroom 825. The gallery was almost full.

This time, it was the plaintiff's side that made the argument. Attorney Taniguchi from Suraj's legal team gave a 10-minute presentation. His explanation was simple and clear, pointing out obvious oddities such as the change in the defendant's argument between the first and second trials (in the first trial, they explained that Suraj died of heart disease alone, but in the second trial they claimed that he died from a combination of stress from deportation and his illness), and the fact that, even though it has been four years since the incident, in the second trial the government brought up a new heart disease that no one had found up until then. He ended by declaring, "No one can deny that (Suraj) died from the act of subjugation."

After the trial, we moved to Hibiya Library and Culture Center for a reporting session.

The next hearing will be on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 10:30 in Tokyo High Court, Courtroom 825. The defendants will be presenting their arguments, but if they do not present any particularly novel arguments, the hearing may conclude at the next hearing.
Everyone, the appeal hearing is nearing the end. It's almost over. It seems that it is unusual to allow 10 minutes for a presentation during an appeal hearing like this one, and I think this is because the large number of spectators who attend every hearing is a big appeal to the presiding judge. Thank you for your continued cooperation in attending the hearing.
(It has not yet been decided whether or not spectator tickets will be distributed. A decision will be made in early January, and an announcement will be made on the APFS website and blog at that time.)