Suraj’s incident: Petition action for a forced prosecution

As everybody knows, we work hard at APFS to pressure for the forced prosecution of the 10 Immigration Officers who participated to the deportation attempt of M. Suraj (a decision of non-prosecution was released on the 3^rd of July this year). This is why we are planning to present the signatures to the petition to the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution.

Yesterday, we hold a petition action in front of Takadanobaba station. Suraj’s wife, friends, and supporters, around 10 people in total gathered to ask for signatures. Despite the extreme heat, many people kindly stopped to hear about M. Suraj, and we were able to gather about 100 signatures in an hour and a half.

To the persons wanting to support the action, you can directly download the petition from the internet (Japanese and English versions available): http://apfs.jp/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/120820-suraj-petition-English.pdf Thank you for your support.

Photographs illustrating Mr. Suraj’s deportation

Among the documents that were made open by the Ministry of Justice after the team of attorneys engaged in Mr. Suraj’s case made an appeal for the preservation of evidence, there was a set of photographs taken by the Immigration Bureau to reconstruct the circumstances of the case.

The person in the white shirt acts as Mr. Suraj. The reenactment took place in the office space of the Deportation Department at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau.

 

↑ Illustrating how they boarded the plane while he was carried by immigration employees in a position facing down

 

↑ Illustrating how his mouth was covered with a towel when he was seated and how his body was held down by several officers

 

It is clear that he was forced into a stressful position. It is the first time that we look at the deportation scene this way, but we can see that he was treated in a very violent manner. Imagining Mr. Suraj’s death under such treatment, one cannot help but feel enraged.