No person shall be compelled to testify against himself. 2) Confession made under compulsion, torture or threat, or after prolonged arrest or detention shall not be admitted in evidence. 3) No person shall be convicted or punished in cases where the only proof against him is his own confession.
The Constitution of Japan - Article 38

Japan Jail where the nightmare begins for young British father…
	In 2002 Nick Baker, a 32 year old British chef, and father of a one year old son, traveled to Japan in advance of the World Cup. He was arrested at Tokyo's Narita Airport when ecstasy pills and cocaine were found in the false bottom of a suitcase. Nick protested he had been duped by a traveling companion, James Prunier, but Japanese police allowed Prunier to leave the country without questioning him. While Nick was spending some 10 months in solitary confinement for apparently "refusing to confess", it happened that Prunier was arrested in Belgium for allegedly tricking three other British travelers into smuggling drugs. (The "Mules" were released by Belgian authorities without charges). Nick's defence attorney requested that the facts of the Belgian case be admitted as evidence, but presiding Judge Kenji Kadoya, who in more than a decade on the bench has never found a single defendant "not guilty", refused this motion at the request of the prosecution. Instead, in June 2003, handing-down almost double what one might expect for murder in Japan, Kadoya sentenced Nick to 14 years in prison with hard labor, largely on the basis of testimony Nick was made to sign (written in Japanese, a language he does not understand). Click here to read more about Nicks case .... Click Here to Sign the Justice For Nick Baker Petition Click here for website created by Nick's family...
Passport to prison - Rebecca Malthus and Gina Smith story
	It was the Asian OE that went terribly wrong. Ruth Laugesen talks to two Kiwi English language teachers who ended up in a Tokyo jail. For Rebecca Malthus, 28, and her newly arrived friend, Gina Smith, also 28, Tokyo was a glittering, humming world away from the usual Kiwi OE pilgrimages to grey, familiar London. Little did they know their excitment would turn to terror! After their arrest on drug possestion they were initially told they would be in custody for a day or two to answer questions, the women had in fact entered a state of judicial limbo. Under the "daiyo kangoku" system of imprisonment without trial, prisoners can be held for interrogation for 23 days without charge, without being offered bail, and without proper legal representation. Both Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Committee have condemned the practice, which persuades many prisoners to confess to whatever they are accused of. "Many detainees confess during this initial detention period. Some have reportedly been beaten and many have alleged that they were tricked into believing that if they confessed the detention would end. The forced confessions have been used in court as evidence," says Amnesty in a 2000 report. Click here to read more about Rebecca and Gina's case ....
Mindless Rejection of Innocent Man's Appeal by Supreme Court Demolishes his Life and Makes Mockery of Japan's Justice System
	STATEMENT - For Immediate Release - 2 October 2003 On October 20, The Supreme Court of Japan rejected an appeal by Mr. Govinda Prasad Mainali, a Nepalese criminal defendant, and his 1997 murder conviction was finalized. On April 14, 2000, The Tokyo District Court originally acquitted Govinda of the charge. However, after the prosecution's appeal, the Tokyo High Court (appeal court), overturning the lower court's ruling, and found him guilty on December 22, 2000. The sentence handed down by Judge Takagi was life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, finalizing the life sentence. Click here to read more about Govinda's plight .... Persecution of a Nepali citizen in Japan - Click Here Letter from Govinda - Click Here
	Chris Snell, a lecturer in music at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Art (aka LIPA or Paul McCartney fame school), husband and father of two children, has been set up by criminals who put drugs in his suitcase on his way from Switzerland to Japan. Right now he is at Chiba Detention Centre. UPDATE AS OF 21/10/2003 - Chris Snell is in Funcha Prison now waat for his transfer back to the UK to go through. Click here to read more about Chris's case ....
	Patrick Loughlin is a 33 year old British Citizen who I believe has been wrongly imprisoned in Japan and is currently subjected to horrific treatment. Click here to read more about Patrick's case .... E-mail us at: admin@freepatrick.org.uk Visit Website at: http://www.freepatrick.org.uk/ LATEST RELEASE PATRICK HAS BEEN RELEASED ... click here for article

OTHER KNOWN PRISONERS IN JAPAN (not complete)
Name	Country	Sentence	Age	Building	Notes
Heidi Speilhagen	German	-	-	-	-
Lauren Shmall	South African	-	-	-	transfered to a Tokyo detention centre
Samanther	South African	-	-	-	Chiba detention centre
Nick Baker	British	14 years	32	-	More on Nicks Case
Robert McCarty	-	7 years	-	-	Detained in Tokyo detention house - 1-35-1-A Kosuge, Katsushika, Tokyo 124-0001.

RESTRICTIONS FOR PRISONERS IN JAPAN
No postcards No letters with stickers No oversized envelopes No magazine cuttings or loose pages Photographs permitted Magazines permitted	Clothes permitted that are not tight, have strings or hats or scarves Letters should be printed neatly as each letter is translated and kept in a prisoner file. Try not to mention that you are strangers or have never met the prisoner.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can write to an inmate and send them a word of support or good cheer! You can send mail to Chiba Detention Centre at the following address.... Chiba Detention Centre Kaizuka-cho 192 Wakaba-ku Chiba-Shi 264-8585 Japan You can also send respectful letters requesting leniency and release to the following address; (Note: it is very important that your letters are respectful and moderate as it may effect the inmates chances of release in a negative manner, the culture of Japan is also one of respect and formality) The Honorable Daizo Nozawa Minister of Justice 1-1-1 Kasumigaseki Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8977 Fax Number: +81-3-3592-7393 Email: webmaster@moj.go.jp You can also send a comment to the Current Japanese Administration by clicking here.