Summary of the case:

On March 6, 2021, Ms. Wishma Sandamali, a detainee at Nagoya Immigration Bureau, died. A urine test on February 15 showed that Wishma was starving. She was too weak to sit up, eat, or use the toilet by herself. However, no proper medical care was provided to her. Through this lawsuit, we hope to find out why this happened.

What we hope to achieve through the lawsuit:

We filed a motion to preserve evidence in this case on July 19, 2021. In the process, we confirmed the video of her room taken at Nagoya Immigration Bureau. From the remaining video footage of her room from February 22 to March 6, it is clear that she was weak and in need of medical treatment. In some scenes, Ms. Wishma herself complained to the staff that she was going to die, and asked for medical attention and intravenous fluids at an outside hospital. To which the staff replied, "You won't die" or "We don't have that kind of power”. And they continued to restrain the body of a person who was clearly dying in front of them, killing one person without providing the proper medical care and depriving her of the opportunity to receive treatment herself. Through this lawsuit, we would like to clarify why the immigration officers, who are supposed to be human beings with blood in their veins, committed such a cruel act, in other words, why Ms. Wishma had to die. At the same time, we would like to realize an appropriate amount of compensation from the Japanese government to her family.

We hope that the problems in the immigration administration will be clarified and corrected so that similar tragedies will not be repeated in the future. We ask for your help to create a society where people are treated as human beings.

Time line:

August 19, 2020: Ms.Wishma turns herself in at a police station, stating that she has no relatives in Japan. Arrested for violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

August 20, 2020: Handed over to Nagoya Immigration Bureau.

January 4, 2021: Applied for provisional release (1st time).

Jan. 18, 2021: Health condition deteriorates. Nausea and reflux of gastric juices.

Jan. 28, 2021: Vomited with blood.

January 31, 2021: Moved to a single room.

February 3, 2021: She began to have difficulty walking and started using a wheelchair.

February 5, 2021: Medical examination at an external hospital. Medical record states, "If unable to take medication, she needs an IV and hospitalization.”.

February 15, 2021: Urobilinogen 3+, ketone 3+, and protein 3+ detected in her urine.

February 16, 2021: The decision to deny the application for provisional release (1st time) was announced. A commissioned orthopedic surgeon was appointed. The commissioned orthopedic surgeon recommends that Ms. Wishma see a psychiatrist.

February 18, 2021: A doctor at the agency's medical office ordered Ms. Wishma to see a psychiatrist. Ms. Wishma was unable to walk, eat, or go to the bathroom on her own, and begins to vomit repeatedly.

February 22, 2021: Applied for provisional release (2nd time).

March 1, 2021: When a staff member saw that Ms. Wishma couldn't swallow the café au lait properly and it spurted out of her nose, the staff member said, "Milk through the nose”. "Milk through the nose” is the title of an old joke song by Tatsuo Kamon.

March 4, 2021: Nagoya Immigration Bureau sent her to see an outside psychiatrist. Quetiapine tablet 1,000 milligrams and Nitrapazem tablet 5 milligrams were prescribed.

March 5, 2021: Ms. Wishma became limp and rarely moved her body. In response to questions from staff members, she often only utters "uh" or "uh". When she said, "Aro...", a staff member asked, "Aron alpha?”. Aron Alpha is the top brand of instant adhesives in Japan and synonymous with instant adhesives. Unable to measure blood pressure and pulse.

March 6, 2021: Ms. Wishma could only say "ah" when staff members asked her questions. A staff member said to her, "Hey, are you on drugs?”. Around 1:00 p.m., she stopped responding. At around 2:15 p.m., called for emergency medical assistance, installed an AED device, and administered cardiac massage. At around 3:25 p.m., She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

How the funds are used:

We have already asked for donations for this case on the website of the Nagoya Immigration Death Case Legal Team, and the funds raised are being used to pay for the following activities.

• Expenses for the plaintiff to come to Japan and stay in Japan
• Public awareness campaign for the case
• Expenses for the defense team's activities (transportation, communication, interpretation, etc.)
• Investigation expenses (disclosure of medical records, hearing of experts' opinions, etc.)
• Expenses for litigation (stamps, postage, printing, etc.)

The Nagoya Immigration Death Case Legal Team consists of more than 10 practicing lawyers from Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. This lawsuit was filed in Nagoya, the city where Ms. Wishma died. Due to the nature of the case, it is necessary to proceed with the case while listening to the opinions of medical and other experts. The case is also related to the state of the immigration system and policies, and there are a wide range of issues that need to be investigated, so it is highly likely that the case will take a long time. For this reason, we have decided to ask for support for Call 4 as well.

The funds raised through Call4 will be used to cover the costs if the above donations are insufficient, and the remainder will be used to pay for the lawyers who worked on the case.

Message from the lawyers in charge:

We met the plaintiffs, the bereaved family of Ms. Wishma, through a supporter who attended visits with her before her death. We will never forget the grief-stricken look on the bereaved family's faces when we first spoke with them on Zoom. While they still did not want to believe that Wishma had passed away, they told us that if she had really passed away, they at least wanted to know the truth about her death.

We have pointed out the illegality of the immigration detention system that has caused so many victims, protested strongly against it, and fought to have the system changed, but we were not in time to save Wishma's life. She has passed away. With that deep regret in our hearts, we wanted to at least make Ms. Wishma our last sacrifice by working with her bereaved family to surely uncover the truth of her death, clarify where the responsibility lies, and use it as an opportunity to "reform the illegal system into a lawful one". We wanted to apologize to Ms. Wishma by accomplishing that much.

Lawyers in Charge:

Shoichi Ibusuki, Daini Tokyo Bar Association, Akatsuki Law Office

Eriko Kambayashi, Osaka Bar Association, Uruwa Sogo Law Office

Tomoko Uragi, Tokyo Bar Association, Shinwa Law Offices

Kosuke Oie, Tokyo Bar Association, Hiroo Park Law Office

Takeshi Ohashi, Tokyo Bar Association, Ohashi Takeshi Law Office

Nobumasa Okabe, Fukuoka Bar Association, Minami Fukuoka Law Office

Keiko Kato, Tokyo Bar Association, Masuda Law Office

Naoya Kawaguchi, Aichi Bar Association, Kawaguchi Law Office

Koichi Kodama, Tokyo Bar Association, Milestone Law Office

Chie Komai, Tokyo Bar Association, Milestone Law Office

Masako Suzuki, Tokyo Bar Association, Izumibashi Law Office

Yoshihiro Sorano, Osaka Bar Association, Yoshihiro Sorano Law Office

Shinya Takai, Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association, Takai & Murayama Law Office

Hiromi Takahashi, Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association, Ebisu-Nishi Law Office

Wataru Takahashi, Tokyo Bar Association, Taito Kyodo Law Office

Kojiro Tawara, Tokyo Bar Association, Waseda Legal Commons Law Office

Masato Nakai, Osaka Bar Association, Akatsuki Law Office

Keiichiro Hara, Osaka Bar Association, Namba Godo Law Office

Masakazu Higawa, Saitama Bar Association, Kawagoe Law Office

Sadamasa Honda, Tokyo Bar Association, Honda Sogo Law Office

Shogo Watanabe, Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association, Izumibashi Law Office

Yasuyuki Nagai, Aichi Bar Association, Nagai Yasuyuki Law Office

Mariko Wakamatsu, Aichi Bar Association, Olimpia Law Office

Ado Matsumoto, Osaka Bar Association, Kansai Godo Law Office