by Alec JordanMarch 20, 2014

A district court in Japan found faultwith immigration of�cials over theiruse of excessive force that led to thedeath of a Ghanaian man while he wasbeing deported from the country fouryears ago.

Narita immigrationof�cials found at fault inGhanaian’s death

NEWS & OPINION

In a landmark ruling, the Tokyo DistrictCourt ordered the central governmentto pay 5 million yen ($49,000) incompensation to the family ofAbubakar Awudu Suraj.

Suraj’s Japanese wife sued the centralgovernment and had initially sought130 million yen in damages from thestate.

The court determined thatimmigration of�cials caused Suraj’sdeath by unlawfully using excessiveforce to subdue the deportee eventhough he was not resistingdetainment.

Suraj was caught overstaying his visain 2006 and was ordered to bedeported. Prior to his deportation inMarch 2010, immigration of�cialsreportedly bound Suraj by his arms andlegs, stuffed a towel in his mouth andbent him forcibly forward, cutting offhis air supply.

The of�cials said later that they had nochoice but to restrain Suraj becausethey were concerned he might put upa violent struggle.

“Their effort to restrain him crossedthe line to such extent it can never bedefended as necessary and

reasonable,” presiding Judge HisakiKobayashi said, rejecting claims by thestate that Suraj’s sudden death wascaused by an irregular heartbeat froma pre-existing heart ailment.

“Breathing restrictions due to the gagand the limitations on movement ofthe chest and diaphragm caused bybeing forced into a posture of havinghis face near his knees led to breathingdif�culties that caused death bysuffocation,” the verdict read.

Although the court awarded far less indamages than the plaintiffs sought, the

court slammed the of�cials’ actions as“dangerous” and “illegal.”

The ruling came as a relief to Suraj’s52-year-old wife. “I’m really glad whatthey did to my husband was foundillegal. That was a huge load off mymind,” she said.

“I demand an of�cial apology from theJustice Ministry and sincerely hope itwill improve the way foreigners aredeported,” she added.

By Maesie Bertumen

Image: “Immigration” by lcars/Flickr

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