Aichi: A man dies in detention, Japanese police accused of abuse of power
The victim, who suffered from schizophrenia and whose name is not known, was arrested late last month. Initial reports reveal he was handcuffed and put in an isolation cell without food or medical care. Spotlight on similar cases.
Tokyo (AsiaNews) - In recent days Japanese newspapers have reported the death of an inmate in the Okazaki police station in Aichi Prefecture. The victim is said to be a 43-year-old man suffering from schizophrenia, who was found dead in his solitary confinement cell on 4 December. The police had arrested him on 25 November.
The Aichi Prefecture opened an investigation into the incident and on 16 December seized some hard disks from the police station in question, whose officers are suspected of wilfully abusing their authority to inflict suffering. Initial reports reveal that the man (whose name is not known) was kept handcuffed in an isolation cell for about 140 hours, without food and without the necessary medication for the diabetes he was suffering from. Video footage viewed by the police also shows the beatings inflicted on the detainee.
According to the victim's father, the man started suffering from schizophrenia in 2016. On the evening of the arrest, the police were allegedly called by some passers-by, who were suspicious of the man who was probably lost and asking for directions. After being taken to the police station, the detainee allegedly began to rage and behave violently, so the police took him to the solitary confinement cell and put handcuffs on him after he had undressed. The man was left there for a few days and was found dead on 4 December.
The Japanese detention law provides for the possibility of handcuffing or shackling detainees when necessary, but stipulates that this must be done within a framework of dignified treatment of the detainee. The same law also stipulates the obligation to feed detainees who have not taken in food or liquids. The degrading treatment and lack of care to which the police subjected the man is a very serious case of abuse of power.
Unfortunately, however, this is not the only one, as a number of other indiscretions have emerged in recent days that tarnish the reputation of Japanese detention facilities. Three more people were allegedly mistreated by guards in Nagoya prison, sustaining physical injuries to their faces, while in Osaka, three members of the police are suspected of falsifying documents relating to the suicide of a man who was in custody. Also in Osaka, another inmate died two days after requesting medical attention for fever and breathing difficulties: the request was denied by the police authorities who were supposed to take care of him.
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29/01/2024 14:26
