Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 September 5 - 11 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

Citizens demand whole picture of SDF’s monitoring of people

A plaintiffs’ group composed of citizens, whose activities against the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq were monitored by the SDF, expressed its intention to do its utmost to uncover the actual extent of the monitoring in an appeal court hearing.

The group held a news conference on September 4 after Akahata revealed that the SDF intelligence security unit still continues surveillance activities on the general public.

In October 2007, 107 residents of northeastern Japan, who had been under surveillance because they staged a protest in opposition to the SDF dispatch to Iraq, filed a lawsuit against the state seeking a halt to the monitoring and demanding compensatory damages. The Sendai District Court this March rejected the claim for suspension of surveillance while ordering the defendant to pay damages to 5 plaintiffs. After the ruling, both the plaintiffs and the defendant appealed the decision.

Teshigawara Yasuo, head of the counsel for the plaintiffs, said at the press conference, “The government claims that the monitoring of public activities is needed for the SDF to conduct its operations smoothly. But they have been monitoring election campaigns for the Okinawa governor and keeping surveillance on Muslims’ daily activities, which have nothing to do with the SDF.”

One of the plaintiffs said, “The SDF should not be spying on the people. Monitoring Muslims’ conducting prayers could become an international issue and is in clear violation of the freedom of religious belief.”