  Stop the suppression of human rights and democracy -- Akahata editorial, January 7 (Excerpts)Late last year, police arrested a man for distributing door to door flyers on Japanese Communist Party activities in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the Katsushika Ward Assembly. He has since been held in detention in flagrant violation of his human rights. Constitutional rights violated He was distributing the flyers in an apartment building, when a resident told him not to throw the flyer in his mail box. The distributor said, "I won't, if you don't want it. Which room is yours?" The resident on the spot called the police. A policeman took the distributor to the Kameari Police Station and arrested him on charges of trespassing. We see no reason for him being charged with trespassing. What the man did by no means overstep the bounds of political activity. The police response was extraordinary in enforcing the arrest, house search, and extended detention. The incident occurred a week after a court ruled that a man who distributed flyers in an apartment building housing Self-Defense Force members was not guilty. The court made clear that the freedom of political expression is guaranteed by the Constitution's Article 21, Section 1 (Freedom of assembly and association, as well as speech, press and other forms of expression) and that this constitutes a key element of democracy. The arrest in Katsushika was apparently in defiance of this non-guilty ruling. The court ruling over flyers in the SDF housing case raised the question if the arrest without warning and the criminal condemnation is justifiable in view of the provisions under Article 21, Section 1. Repression of flyer distributors will suppress the constitutional freedoms of speech and expression and undermine the foundation of democracy. Immediate release called for At the request of the public prosecutors, the Tokyo District Court has decided that the man's custody will be extended. On the contrary, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office should make a decision on his immediate release and non-prosecution. (end) |