Japan Releases Death Row Inmate after 48 Years, Evidence Found to be Fabricated

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan–After forty-eight years of professed innocence and incarceration, thirty of which were in solitary confinement, Iwao Hakamada was freed Thursday. On June 10, 1966 when two children and their parents were stabbed to death and their home set ablaze, Hakamada, the longest-serving death row inmate in the world, was arrested, thrown in jail and ultimately sentenced to death for it.

Iwao Hakamada, former Japanese featherweight champion, was held for 48 years on death row, and finally released on Thursday after a tribunal determined that evidence was fabricated. (Photo courtesy of Reuters).

Hakamada, a former professional boxer who is now 78, was released Thursday morning after a Japanese court concluded investigators had likely fabricated evidence during his 1968 trial, according to Associated Press reports. Hunch-backed and wearing a yellow button-down, he struggled into an awaiting car, surrounded by a crowd flashing cameras. The decision to free him comes a month after the exoneration and release of America’s longest-serving death row inmate, Glenn Ford.

Blood on a shirt prosecutors alleged Hakamada wore during the family’s murder turned out not to contain his DNA. The court ordered a retrial, calling Hakamada’s original verdict an injustice. Prosecutors reported that they will seek appeal.

The order marks only the sixth time in Japan’s postwar history that a death row inmate has been granted retrial. The decision is expected to ignite more criticism of a capital justice system that has come under attack before. Japan and the United States are the only two Group of Seven nations to maintain the death penalty, and it holds high popularity in Japan.

Critics report significant problems with the system. Death row inmates, who are hanged, don’t know the date of their execution until the morning of the event. “For decades,” Reuters reports, “Japan did not even officially announce that capital sentences had been carried out.” Perhaps most troubling of all, police obtain confessions in closed-door interrogations, opening the door for false or fabricated confessions.

This is exactly what Hakamada claims happened to him.

In 1966 Hakamada had taken a job in the town of Shimizu situated along Japan’s southern coast at a food-processing factory. On June 30 of that year, the factory’s manager and his wife and two children were found stabbed to death. Someone had also stolen 200,000 yen — $2,000 –from their house, which had been razed.

Two months later in August, Hakamada was arrested, charged with murder, robbery and arson. While in custody, he said he did it. He later recanted the confession, but it was too late. On September 11, 1968, a three-judge panel sentenced him to death.

The case wasn’t nearly as solid as it appeared. The sentencing haunted one of the judges. “I have thought about his trial for many years,” Judge Norimichi Kumamoto told reporters in 2007. ”The guilty verdict was based solely on Hakamada confessing to the killings. But he confessed after being confined and tortured in a small room for 20 days. … The police use shocking, barbaric means to extract confessions and those who make them do so only out of despair.”

“I have felt sadness and disappointment over this,” Kumamoto continued.

Despite that admission, Hakamada languished on death row for seven more years, always unsure if every day was to be his last. He was eventually admitted into the Guinness Book of World Records as the globe’s longest-serving death row inmate.

If previous cases offer guidance, Hakamada’s chances at retrial are good. Four of the other five death row inmates who were tried a second time were acquitted. The other case is pending.

For more information, please see:

The Telegraph– World “longest serving” death row prisoner released–27 March 2014

Washington Post– Japan frees world’s longest-serving death row inmate after more than 45 years— 27 March 2014

Japan Times– Hakamada released after 48 years— 27 March 2014

ABC News– Japan Frees World’s Longest-Held Death Row Inmates— 27 March 2014

Houston Police Arrest Five Men for Kidnapping 115 Immigrants

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

HOUSTON, United States – Police arrested five men on Tuesday, charging them with kidnapping 115 people at gunpoint and holding them in a small Houston area home.  The 115 people are suspected illegal immigrant, who were told by their captors that they must pay a ransom in order to continue their entry into the United States.  Sixteen of the 115 captors were minors.

Police found ninety-nine men and sixteen women in a 1300 square foot Houston area home last week. (photo courtesy of BBC News)

The five men – identified as Jose Aviles-Villa, Jonathan Solorzano-Tavila, Antonio Barruquet-Hildiberta, Jose Cesmas-Borja and Eugenio Sesmas-Borja – appeared before a federal judge Tuesday on hostage taking, weapons, and conspiracy charges.  The judge denied bail to all five suspects, believing them to be a flight risk for trial.

Conviction for the hostage taking charges could result in a 10 year sentence with a potential for 20 years for the conspiracy charges, plus fines.

A criminal complaint drafted by agents from the Department of Homeland Security claimed that agents found the 115 hostages in the Houston area home last week stripped of their shoes and most of their cloths.  The complaint said they were threatened with violence if they did not comply and there were instances of some being kicked and beaten and females being groped.

The captives told authorities that they were held under armed guard, the doors were locked with deadbolts, and the windows were covered with plywood to prevent their escape.  Authorities recovered a shotgun, rifle, stun gun, ammunition, and wooden paddle from the home.

Police found the 115 captives after a Chicago resident contacted Houston police about the possible abduction of her daughter.  The criminal complaint alleges that she paid $15,000 for the return of her daughter and two grandchildren.  After she paid the original ransom, the complaint claims the captors demanded an additional $13,000.

Houston police traced the phone call from the captors and began surveillance on the house, ultimately finding the captives.  Stash houses of more than one hundred captives are not rare in South Texas, but this was the largest in the city in several years.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – 5 Charged in Houston Human Smuggling Operation – 25 March 2014

BBC News – Five charged with holding 115 hostages in ‘stash’ house – 25 March 2014

The Guardian – Five men charged with hostage-taking after 115 people found in Texas house – 25 March 2014

Star Tribune – 5 charged in Houston human smuggling operation after more than 100 immigrants rescued – 25 March 2014

USA Today – Police find more than 100 immigrants in stash house – 20 March 2014

Turkish Court Orders Termination of Twitter Ban

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ANKARA, Turkey – A Turkish court ordered the country’s Telecommunications Authority to restore access to Twitter throughout the country through a court-issued injunction.

Demonstrators against the Twitter ban in Ankara. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

Five days ago, the Telecommunications Authority blocked access to Twitter throughout the entire country. The social network had been a large source of links that provided recordings implicating government corruption. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to “rip out the roots” of the social network, and accordingly ordered the Telecommunications Authority to block the website. The Telecommunications Authority had accused Twitter of not following Turkish court orders to remove certain content from the website.

Since the enactment of the Twitter-ban, lawyers, opposition parties, and journalists both inside and outside the country had advocated for the abolishment of the ban. Pro-Twitter advocates contended that the ban was unconstitutional. The ban drew a lot of international criticism and many Turkish Twitter users found ways to access Twitter during the ban. The Turkish President Abdullah Gul tweeted his opposition to the blockage after it was enacted.

The administrative court in Ankara based its decision on Wednesday on freedom of expression and the right to communicate freely, both of which are cited in the country’s Constitution, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc stated that the Telecommunications Authority would obey Wednesday’s court decision after it received official notice from the administrative court, but that it was reserving the right to appeal the decision. An anonymous government source stated that the Authority has thirty days to implement the court’s decision.

This upcoming Sunday, Turkey will be holding elections which are being regarded as a referendum on Prime Minister Erdogan’s time in office. During a recent election rally in northern Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan accused opposition parties and media who criticized the Twitter ban of being the “advocate of companies who don’t recognize Turkey’s laws and treat Turkey as a Third World country.” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag stated that the Telecommunications Authority had been merely implementing court orders: “Is it against the Constitution to implement court orders?”

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Turkish Court Orders Halt to Twitter Ban – 26 March 2014

Al Jazeera – Turkish Court Orders Halt to Twitter Ban – 26 March 2014

BBC News – Court in Turkey Suspends Ban on Twitter – 26 March 2014

Reuters – Turkish Court Upholds Appeal Against Twitter Blockage-Media – 26 March 2014

Kenya Orders Somali Refugees Back to Camps after Attack

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya has ordered all urban-based Somali refugees to move into designated camps in a bid to end attacks by militant Islamists.

South-Sudanese refugees at the Kakuma camp (photo courtesy of AFP)

 

The order has been issued because of “emergency security challenges” facing Kenya.

A refugee group condemned the decision as “illegal.”

Kenyans were asked to report any refugees or illegal immigrants outside the overcrowded camps.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement.

Until now, refugees who could support themselves or were in need of specialized education or medical care had been allowed to live in urban areas.

Lenku said “all refugees residing outside the designated refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab are hereby directed to return to their respective camps with immediate effect.”

Somalia’s al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group has carried out a flood of attacks in Kenya in recent years.

It was behind the four-day siege at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September, killing 67 people.

On Sunday, at least six people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a church near the coastal city of Mombasa.

This attack came amid heightened warnings of a threat of Islamist violence in Kenya despite boosted security in major cities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

This attack also came days after police arrested two men with a vehicle stashed full of large quantities of powerful explosives prepared in pipe bombs, which experts said would have been strong enough to bring down a major building.

Kenya has repeatedly claimed that refugees crossing over from Somalia are threatening security.

Mr. Ole Lenku said refugee registration centers in Kenya’s main cities would be closed.

All refugees living in cities and towns should report to Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

Dadaab, where people often live in appalling conditions, is home to more than 400,000 mainly Somali refugees.

Kakuma, a vast desert settlement, is home to more than 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.

“Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Mr Ole Lenku added in a statement.

BBC News says this decision will affect hundreds of thousands Somalis, many of whom who live and work in the cities. This could also worsen overcrowding at the camps.

“Kenya has signed international conventions that allow freedom of movement for refugees, and Tuesday’s decision flies in the face of those assurances,” the US-based Refugee International group said in a statement.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Kenya restricts Somali refugees to camps – 26 March 2014
The East African – Kenya orders all refugees into designated camps – 26 March 2014
Aljazeera – Kenya orders all refugees back into camps – 26 March 2014
The Sydney Morning Herald – Kenya crackdown on refugees after attacks – 26 March 2014
Reuters – Kenya orders Somali refugees back to camps after attacks – 26 March 2014

Obama Proposal Ends NSA Bulk Collections Of Phone Records

By Brandon R. Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – President Barack Obama has proposed changes to the National Security Agency (“NSA”), which would end its ability to collect telephone records in bulk in an attempt to eliminate concerns regarding bulk data collection.

President Obama’s proposal would prohibit the NSA from collecting phone records, while allowing access to records kept by telecommunication companies (Photo Courtesy Reuters).

The plan, according to a senior administration official, would ensure that the government will no longer be able to collect or hold metadata—such data includes the numbers and time of phone calls but not the content of the conversation.  His plan would, however, attempt to retain “as many [other] capabilities of the program as possible.”

The plan would also still ensure “that the government has access to the information it needs to meet the national security needs.”  Though the NSA would not being storing the information, it would have access to the records that telecommunications companies will keep.  In order to obtain access to those records, the NSA would need to obtain a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Marc Rotenberg, an executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, thinks that the proposal is a “sensible outcome, given that the 215 program likely exceeded current legal authority and has not proved to be effective.”  The 215 program that Rotenberg refers to is a program that was put in place by the Bush administration in 2006, which was interpreted to mean that the NSA could systematically collect domestic calling records in bulk.

Jameel Jaffer, of the American Civil Liberties Union, agrees with Rotenburg and added, “the government can track suspected terrorists without placing millions of people under permanent surveillance.”  He points to the government’s inability to point to a thwarted terrorist attack to bolster his statement.

A competing proposal by the House Intelligence Committee, however, though aimed at ending the bulk collection of data, would allow the NSA to search the data collected by the telecommunications companies so long as they had a reasonable articulable suspicion; it would not require approval of a judge.

According to a White House statement released last week, Obama maintained that his administration is committed “to taking steps that can give people greater confidence that their rights are being protected while preserving important tools that keep us safe.”  In addition, the Obama administration will also consider ending or modifying other bulk collection programs.

 

For further information, please see:

CNN – Obama, Congress, Working on Changes to NSA – 25/3/14

The Guardian – House’s NSA Bill Could Allow More Spying – 25/3/14

NY Times – Obama to Call for End to NSA’s Bulk Data Collection – 24/3/14

Reuters – Obama to Propose Ending NSA Bulk Collection of Phone Records – 25/3/14