Three anti-war campaigners held in Japan

by: Julie-ann Davies

Tachikawa: On 27 February 2004 three anti-war campaigners were detained by Japanese police. The activists, two men and one woman, were arrested in the Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa while mailing leaflets opposing sending Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to Iraq.

The pamphlets called for careful consideration of any SDF deployment. The trio were arrested for "trespassing" under Article 130 of the Japanese criminal code as they placed the literature in mailboxes at SDF personnel housing units.

The activists are still being held in police custody in Tachikawa. Since their arrest they have been subjected to almost eight hours of interrogation every day. No lawyers are present during their questioning. The families of the detainees have had their computers seized and their homes searched.

The human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) has received information which indicates the three are being interrogated by the public security unit of Tokyo Metropolitan Police. This suggests the case is thought to have implications for Japanese national security.

In a statement AI says that it considers the activists to be prisoners of conscience, detained in violation of their right to freedom of expression which is guaranteed by the Japanese Constitution and international law.

The organisation strongly condemned the arrests and said: “We call for their immediate release and pending their release, Japan should ensure that their rights — as guaranteed in international human rights standards to which Japan is a state party — are protected."

Source: Amnesty International