Sisters Polnima (left) and Wayomi hold a press conference showing part of the surveillance camera footage in front of Wishma’s portrait.
In the end, the woman sleeping on the bed did not even respond to the staff’s call. The legal team for the lawsuit filed by the bereaved family of Sri Lankan woman Wishma Sandamari (33 years old at the time) who died while she was detained at the Nagoya Immigration Bureau in March 2021 in Tokyo on the 6th. A press conference was held and part of the surveillance camera footage submitted by the government was released. Through the image of Ms. Wishma just before her death was confirmed, I called on people to discuss the state of Japan’s detention system.
◆ Only 5 hours out of 295 hours
“It’s been two years since she died, and she’s finally seen. The footage I’ve released is only a small portion, but I want people to know what happened at the immigration office. I don’t want the same thing that happened to my sister to happen again.” Wishma’s younger sister Polnima, 28, complained in front of her portrait, her voice sometimes trembling.
The government will store a total of 295 hours, about two weeks until March 6, 2021, when Wishma died. Five hours of this was submitted as evidence in response to the strong demand of the Nagoya District Court, which is hearing a lawsuit for damages. Seven of the videos, about seven minutes long, have been released by her lawyers, with audio recordings of Wishma moaning and refusing to respond to staff members’ calls.
According to a report prepared by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, officials misbehaved, including laughing when a weakened Wishma spit out a drink she couldn’t swallow. However, it was not included in the five-hour footage submitted by the government.
Another sister, Wayomi, 30, said, “Why aren’t you showing all the footage? I want the judge to make a decision after watching all the footage for 295 hours.”
The bereaved family and the defense team also released a statement saying, “Regarding the disclosure of the video footage to some citizens.” He expressed his doubts about the bill to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which will be deliberated in the Diet in the near future, and pointed out that it is “a change for the worse,” such as by limiting the application of the provision not to deport foreigners who are applying for refugee status up to twice in principle.
Attorney Shoichi Ibusuki, who is a member of the defense team, argued that the revised bill was “absolutely unacceptable.” Regarding the video, he emphasized, “I wanted to release it sooner. (Isoko Mochizuki)
