Relatives of dead Sri Lankan detainee sue Japanese government

Nagoya – Relatives of a Sri Lankan woman who died while in custody at an immigration center in central Japan last year sued the government on Friday, demanding ¥156 million ($1.35 million) in damages.

The family of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali alleges she was illegally detained and died due to a lack of necessary medical care. The suit was filed with the Nagoya District Court two days before the first anniversary of her death.

Wishma died at the age of 33 on March 6 last year at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau after a month of medical complaints, including vomiting and stomach aches.

The Sri Lankan arrived in Japan on a student visa in 2017 to study the Japanese language but overstayed her visa, with her asylum application denied by immigration authorities.

Her immigration status was discovered after seeking police protection in Shizuoka Prefecture for domestic abuse in August 2020 and she was sent to the Nagoya immigration facility to await deportation.

Her request for provisional release, which supporters say could have helped her, was denied.

Almost three months after Wishma’s younger sisters flew to Japan, the Immigration Services Agency said in an investigative report issued in August that the immigration center staff lacked awareness on handling crises, and that there were problems with the facility’s medical and information sharing system.

The report also said Wishma died of illness, but that an investigation could not determine the precise medical cause because there were multiple elements that could have triggered her death.

“We still don’t know why and how she died. I did not think it would take this long,” her sister Poornima, 27, told journalists in front of the district court on Friday.

In November, the relatives filed a criminal complaint with the Nagoya District Public Prosecutor’s Office against the immigration center’s senior officials saying Wishma’s death was caused by a lack of medical care. The prosecutors later accepted responsibility.

On Friday, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa told reporters, “Etching remorse deep in our hearts, we will make continuous efforts so that (a similar situation) will never be repeated.”

“This is something that must not happen at immigration centers, which are responsible for lives,” he said.