Foreigners nightmare

amnesty International, the London-based human rights organisation released a report in Tokyo on November 10 that says that foreigners in Japan are subject to violence, racism and even sexual assault by immigration officials, police and prison guards. The report says that Japanese officials have tried to ignore or cover up cases of ill treatment of detained foreigners. The 46-page report mentioned 18 cases of foreigners who were allegedly mistreated while in detention recently.

The human rights watchdog group urged the government to start an independent review of the situation. "It shows patterns,' said Pierre Robert of the organisation who had helped to compile the report. "It shows that human rights violations are not simply accidents,' he said. The report mentioned the case of an Iranian citizen who died after what his wife claims was a beating by immigration and police officials. The organisation also brought notice to the case of a Chinese woman who had to undergo an abortion due to the lack of proper medical care after she was held for overstaying her visa. The government, however, denied the allegations in the above-mentioned cases in a written response.