Family demands full video of Sri Lankan who died at Japanese detention centre
The relatives of a Sri Lankan woman who died at an immigration detention facility in central Japan four years ago are set to demand the full release of security footage of her.Wishma Sandamali had been detained at the facility in Nagoya City for overstaying her visa. She complained of ill health and died at the age of 33 on March 6, 2021.
Her bereaved family filed a suit with the Nagoya District Court seeking state redress, saying immigration authorities failed to provide her with medical care when her condition worsened. The Japanese Government said that medical checkups and examinations found no cause for her ill health.
Some 295 hours of security camera footage that captured the woman as she was detained at the facility remains. The Government has submitted roughly five hours of the video to the court in response to the family’s demands.In February, her family demanded that the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau release all the footage. On March 26, the Bureau said it had decided against doing so, on the grounds that the footage in question shows security systems and releasing it could undermine maintenance of order.
Her family said that disclosure is crucial in determining what really happened and that the decision is unacceptable. The family’s attorneys said that the family has decided to file a lawsuit next month to demand that the state reverses its decision.
