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Lankan student’s death in Japan: Japanese immigration authority takes own detention centre to task

10 Aug 2021

By Pamodi Waravita  Japan has admitted to a systemic failure that resulted in the death of a detained Sri Lankan student, and has cast responsibility on the officials in charge, while apologising for the incident. The final report released yesterday (10) by Japan’s Immigration Services Authority (ISA), regarding the death of Sri Lankan student Wishma Sandamali Rathnayake at one of its immigration centres in Nagoya in March this year, highlighted flaws in the medical care system of the facility where she was housed, and reproached the centre’s top officials. Both the country’s Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa and ISA Head Shoko Sasaki apologised for the Nagoya facility’s treatment of Rathnayake that resulted in her death. Rathnayake died in a detention centre in Nagoya on 6 March. Supporters and volunteers who helped her during her last days had alleged that the severe mistreatment by officials in the detention centre led to her death. Her family members told The Morning that they had requested the Japanese Government to view the video footage of Rathnayake’s final days at the immigration facility. It was reported this week that the Japanese Government plans to release a part of the video footage to the family members soon. Rathnayake had been detained for overstaying her student visa, which had been reportedly revoked in 2018, when she had been unable to pay her tuition fees. She was arrested in August 2020 by Japanese Immigration officials when she had sought the help of the authorities to escape from an alleged violent domestic situation involving another Sri Lankan, a male. He was reported to be an intimate partner of Rathnayake’s and, according to a volunteer at the START organisation, which works closely with immigrants in detention centres, had also been held in a detention centre, but had subsequently been granted provisional release. Rathnayake’s death caused serious concerns in both Sri Lanka and Japan, with many accusations levelled against the authorities at the detention centre who had reportedly turned a blind eye to her medical issues, and had refused to help her seek medical assistance. START Volunteer Akemi Mano told The Morning earlier this year that it was “difficult to look at Rathnayake during her last days, as she was suffering from dehydration and illness”.


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