Idubor Case: Lower Court Decision text, and complete letters from prison, written specially for Debito.org (part 1)
Posted by debito on January 31st, 2008
Hi Blog. Here are some letters from Osayuwamen “Yuyu” Idubor, written in jail and passed to me over the past couple of weeks through his wife. The Idubor Case is where a Nigerian was sentenced last December to three years for rape despite no physical evidence, and flawed accuser testimony. He gives us his view on what happened in his own words. (Click here to see a picture of Yuyu and his lawyer’s cross-examination of the flawed testimony.)
I received his District Court Decision in PDF format a couple of weeks ago, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it. Those with time and interest can download it here: http://www.debito.org/iduborchisaihanketsu.pdf
BTW, I created a blog entry on this some days ago, but not all the letters were in and they were not properly paginated. So I’ll start again, delete the old blog, and paste below the comments it got. There are many pages, and it will clog the blog if I print them all full size. So here are pages B1-B7 (about the bar itself–germane to the accusations made in the case), then pages 1 to 130. Pages 131 to 165 are in the next blog entry. Please click on thumbnails below to access each page.
And if you want to support the Idubors, drop by his bar in Yokohama. Details on how to get there here. Arudou Debito in Sapporo
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Click on thumbnails to expand in browser:
Description of the Bar (the site of the alleged rape):
What happened, in Yuyu Idubor’s own words:
CONTINUES IN PART TWO, NEXT BLOG ENTRY…
January 31st, 2008 at 10:43 am
FEEDBACK FROM CYBERSPACE
Dear Mr. Debito,
Thank you for all the great work you are doing to promote and protect the human rights of foreigners living in Japan.
I’m particularly impressed by the support you’ve given to Mr. Idubor and his family. In this connection, I wonder if you are aware of a similar case that received a lot of media attention about ten years ago - that of Govinda Mainali, who is still in prison. Here is a link to the site of the Govinda Innocence Advocacy Group:
http://www.jca.apc.org/govinda/index.html
And a recent article in the Japan Times:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070517f2.html
More power to you!
January 31st, 2008 at 10:45 am
FEEDBACK FROM ADAM:
Debito,
what can we do about it? It seems like whatever happens to NJ in Japan nothing is going to help, even own Embassies. Why are they here then if they don`t serve own citizens well.
Japan is a country without law, is worse (I`m sorry) than third world. Police, Court and first of all Lawyers are usleess!!! Are they charging for “help”? which case is likely to be lost. They care more about their carriers than help someone like NJ residents who pay taxes here. According to your Power Point presentation which I found good Ishihara who says Roppongi was taken over and is foreign and who knows what they are doing is so irresponsible. It shows GoJ do nothing to crack real criminals and overstayers, if they have no idea what`s going on there. You also mentioned that Japan won`t be “small” because people will always go and come. You`re right, but those who comes have to expect high taxes (like Scandinavian countries) with only different that in Japan there is no social help and treatment of NJ is humiliating. Cases like these and recently taxi case of Swedish journalist makes me feel like I will be the one you mentioned “NJ still immigrating” even though I`m PR I cannot see myself here. It`s too scary life, it`s like being all alone and even if someone “beat” you all you can do is let them do it or run. I do martial Arts here and was witness when a man was running away and and a woman was screaming “tsukamaete, tsukamaete!!!” I did not move,though he was next to me. I was too scare to help, good there were 3 Japanese guys who got him. It was on platform train station with many, many people watching it.
Good Luck to Japan. Never get help from me anybody, unless I will be treated with respect for what I could do, not to be locked for help someone.
I found website of Olimpic Committee but couldn`t find any contact details. Let`s make at least Japan not to get Olympic 2016. It would be too good for Ishihara and its people.
Can we spread a word about real Japan. I was thinking about going on YouTube with kind of TV Channel called “REAL JAPAN TODAY” (beware!) What do you think.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:45 am
FEEDBACK FROM PAUL:
I also find myself increasingly frightened about coming to Japan again, and though I’ve lived and traveled there upwards of 50 times, I am really sensing a lot of hesitancy about returning again. I have a business trip coming up, so I must.
Somewhat related to the gentleman’s experience above, I had a case where I did help out a Japanese person, only to be treated with suspicion thereafter.
I was in Narita City on a Sunday afternoon when I heard a meek plaintive sobbing off in the distance, and I went to see what was up. A young boy of about 11 (who’s mother had left him in the car unguarded and unattended while she went shopping) got out of the car and then reached back in through the window to get the keys, when the window suddenly rose up and caught his wrist, compressing it quite strongly.
Try as I might, I could not get the window to budge and the keys were inside the car! I’m not sure why, but I noticed blood emerging from this poor kid’s mouth, and clearly his hand was in danger of being lost. It was Narita on a Sunday and nobody was around. I started screaming at the top of my lungs for somebody to please come and help. After what seemed like forever, a shop owner came out and noticed us, and tried to help me with the window, to no avail, and then went off in search of the car’s owner, while I tried to soothe this kid’s nerves and tell him now it would be alright.
After a few more moments, the shop owner came back with the mother, and this is where things really took a sad and scary turn. Fortunately, she did have another set of keys in her purse and was able to lower the window. But, having done that, she grabbed her child, AND RAN AWAY from ME as fast as she could. While she was chastising her child with words like “what were you doing?!” I looked over at the shop owner, who had pretty much summed up the situation, fortunately. I nodded “thank you” to him and then left, very quickly, as there’s no telling what might have happened if accusations started flying.
I think it’s a sad state, however, where we are reluctant to offer basic assistance to someone in need, for fear that we might end up entangled in false accusations.
Japan has become a very very scary country.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
FEEDBACK FROM ICARUS:
Adam, I think you should take a step back to reevaluate the total picture. Sure the government makes stupid decisions, sure the police can be harassing in their approach to NJ, and sure there are daily challenges that we all have to deal with, but it doesn’t help to overreact. Japan, for all of its problems, is still a wonderful place to live where one doesn’t have to live in fear of crime, people are friendly and where there this always something interesting going on. You can live your life in fear or you can decide to remember why you came to the country and enjoy it for what its worth.
On a side note, you should NEVER be afraid to help someone if they are in trouble. If you lose this basic element of humanity then you have truly lost. Even if in the worst case scenario you have to spend some time in a police station, helping people is what makes humans decent.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
FEEDBACK FROM JON:
Maybe he is innocent. However, all I have seen on this site are reports or statements from Mr. Ibudor’s wife or his lawyer. Of course it will sound as if the case has no evidence and the testimony is flimsy.
Not every rape case has physical evidence such as bodily fluids residue, etc.
I am of course nervous when a case is just “his word against hers”. But it is possible he did force himself on her and try and rape her. Maybe he got scared and stopped half way through so no fluid evidence.
And maybe if we heard the prosecutors side of the alleged victims testimony, we will have a completely different story or version then that of the defense lawyer.
Yes, there is absolutely discrimination in Japan, maybe even worse if you are a black person. But just because the defendent is black does not automatically mean the Japanese legal establishment or the alleged victim are out to get him with lies and false testimony.
–NO MATERIAL EVIDENCE MEANS YOU MUST ACQUIT. THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE. THE ACCUSER MUST MAKE THE CASE STICK, AND THERE IS ENOUGH DOUBT IN THE TESTIMONY TO VOID THAT. THE ACCUSED DOES NOT HAVE TO PROVE INNOCENCE, EVEN IN JAPAN. THAT IS REGARDLESS OF RACE.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:47 am
FEEDBACK FROM JEAN-PAUL:
“NO MATERIAL EVIDENCE MEANS YOU MUST ACQUIT.”
Absolutely not the case. For example, just consider how nearly every case of rape or molestation brought against priests in the United States was prosecuted without any material evidence - just victim testimony (often without corroboration) - and sometimes decades after the offense took place.
In the United States, it has been widely acknowledged that many women - because of shame or other factors - do not report rapes until well after physical evidence has been lost. There are legal provisions to ensure that they still have recourse to testimony which is sufficient for conviction without material evidence in nearly every state.
Here is an interesting commentary on the application of this in India (including reference to an American case where there was a conviction without material evidence)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Rape_conviction_sans_medical_proof_valid/articleshow/2241326.cms
Here are some of the detailed precedents in US law -
United States v. Bear Runner 574 F.2d 966 (8th Cir. 1978)
United States v. Smith 303 F.2d 341, 342 (4th Cir. 1962)
United States v. Ryan 21 M.J. 627, 632 (A.C.M.R. 1985)
United States v. Deshotel, 15 M.J. 787 (A.C.M.R. 1983)
Smith v. State, 604 So. 2d 434, 436 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992)
The last one actually contains the statement “A Rape conviction may be based solely on the victim’s uncorroborated testimony.”
In the United States, the ability to achieve a rape conviction with only victim testimony is considered to be one of the absolutely most fundamental legal protections given to women.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:47 am
FEEDBACK FROM JON:
I am under the impression that even in the U.S., many cases do not have material evidence but is based solely on witness testimony. And this often includes sexual assault. Sexual assault does not always end in the exhange of bodily fluids which would be the only true material or physical evidence aside from maybe bruising or other injuries.
Maybe I am wrong and all cases that are based solely on witness testimony end in aquital. But I don’t think that is the case.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:50 am
Whoops, they took so much trouble to black out the complainant’s name all the way through the document, and then [forgot it in one spot].
–QUITE. I RECEIVED THE HANKETSU WITH THE NAMES BLACKED OUT BY MR TSURUSAKI, THEIR LAWYER. I HAVE CONTACTED THEIR LAWYER AND ASKED HIM TO SEND ME ANOTHER COPY OF THE HANKETSU WITH THE NAME DROPPED OUT COMPLETELY.
IF YOU HAVE THE TOOLS TO BLACKEN IT OUT FOR ME, THAT WOULD HELP OUT NICELY TOO (I CAN’T). THANKS. DEBITO
January 31st, 2008 at 12:49 pm
[…] Debito posted letters from Osayuwamen Idubor, written in jail. The Nigerian was sentenced last December to three years for rape despite no physical evidence and flawed accuser testimony. Part I and Part II. Share This […]
January 31st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
re: Adam and Paul
Many folks are now of the view that the US has sunk to the level that the authorities are out of hand. My take is that the human rights situation is dramatically worse there now than here. After all, if a country is willing to do what it’s doing in Iraq, what will it be willing to do at home?