Japan carries out capital punishment by hanging.
Two death row inmates in Japan have sued the state for its practice of notifying executions hours before their consummation, an “illegal” and “inhumane” practice that they say violates their opportunities to see their lawyers and appeal.
The convicts, whose identity has not been disclosed, filed the lawsuit with the Osaka District Court (west) on Thursday, demanding that the authorities notify the execution date in good time and request an indemnity of 22 million yen (168,000 yen). euros) for damages, the newspaper Asahi reported on Friday.
According to the complaint, to which said media had access, the notification of the execution hours before is not stipulated by law and does not give the convicts enough time to speak with their legal representatives or appeal, which violates their right to a trial. adequate contained in article 31 of the Japanese Constitution.
“Prior notice is important to protect human dignity,” Yutaka Ueda, a lawyer representing the convicts, said in statements collected by Asahi, who considers that such a short notice is “extremely inhumane.”
Notifying the execution on the same day “significantly impairs the emotional stability of the convicted person,” he added.
The Japanese authorities allege that this practice is carried out precisely to ensure the emotional stability of the inmates, an argument long refuted by human rights groups, which have also protested the procedure.
Japan carries out capital punishment by hanging.
The Asian country announced executions with more time until around 1975, according to the NHK public network, but that year a convict whose execution was previously notified took his life, which would have triggered a change in this practice.
More than a hundred inmates are waiting on Japanese death row for their sentence to be carried out. When the country carried out its most recent execution, in December 2019, the figure rose to 112, a number that could have decreased in the event that one of those convicted died, information that is not in the public domain. (I)
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