Amnesty International said Govinda Mainali’s acquittal was a sharp reminder that Japan must reform its police detention system. “When initially arrested, Mainali was denied access to lawyers and was beaten, kicked and pinned against the wall by police officers during interrogations,” Amnesty International said in a statement on 7 November, 2012.
The Tokyo High Court has acquitted a Nepali national on 7 November, 2012 who was sentenced to life for the killing of a Japanese woman in 1997. Mainali (46), who was kept in prison for 15 years before being freed and deported in June, was found not guilty, in absentia, in the retrial that began on October 29 of this year.
‘Both Amnesty International and the UN have repeatedly called on Japan to repeal or substantially reform this system as it violates Japan’s human rights treaty obligations’, Amnesty International said there are no rules on the length of interrogations, which are not fully recorded and which lawyers are not permitted to attend.
“Necessary reforms include ensuring detainees have unhindered access to legal counsel, including during interrogations, electronic monitoring as well as audio and video recordings of the entire process of interrogations for use in criminal trials and surveillance in custody facilities,” said the statement.
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