A man from Ilam who was arrested in Japan in 1997 and later jailed for life for the murder of a woman in Tokyo might be innocent, Japanese media said Thursday citing DNA tests. 

“A DNA analysis has shown that semen found on the Japanese woman killed 14 years ago in Tokyo was not that of the Nepali man serving life imprisonment after being convicted of killing her,” reported Kyodo, Japan´s leading news agency, citing sources close to the matter.

Govinda Prasad Mainali, now 44, was working as a waiter at a restaurant when Tokyo police arrested him on March 22, 1997, initially on suspicion of overstaying his visa.

In May 20 that year, Mainali was found guilty of overstaying and was served a suspended sentence that would normally have resulted in deportation. But the very day, police served another arrest warrant on Mainali in connection with the March 8 murder of 39-year-old Yasuko Watanabe, an employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Mainali faced charges of murdering her and also stealing about 40,000 yen from her. Investigations later revealed that despite having a respectable and well-paid job, Watanabe moonlighted at night as a prostitute.

Though Tokyo District Court dropped the murder and robbery charges against Mainali citing lack of evidence and possibility of a third party involvement, Tokyo High Court later overturned the district court´s decision and sentenced Mainali to life imprisonment. And in October 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction.

Dr Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, president of Inhured International and one of the leading campaigners back then for a fair trial for Mainali, said the DNA analysis result conclusively proves Mainali´s innocence.

“The case must now be dismissed. Mainali must be released and compensated, and those who carried out the investigation brought to justice,” Dr Siwakoti said.

Campaigners in Nepal have always held that the court sentence to Mainali was a case of “miscarriage of justice”.

“Japan has a poor record of justice delivery and human rights when it comes to foreigners,” Dr Siwakoti said. “The fact that Mainali was a foreigner, and came from an economically backward country like Nepal contributed to the injustice he met. The way investigation was carried out was unacceptable,” he added.

Even after Tokyo District Court acquitted him in 1997, Mainali was illegally kept in detention while prosecutors appealed to a higher court. Rights groups had termed this a breach of Japanese law and international law.

Media reports back then pointed out the use of third degree torture by Japanese authorities to force a confession from Mainali. Amnesty International had called for an independent investigation into his ill-treatment by Japanese police, while UNHCR questioned the legality of interrogation over a crime that was unrelated to the crime for which Mainali was arrested.

In its May 1997 report, UNHCR said, “On 30 March [1997] he [Mainali] was formally charged with overstaying his visa in Japan. But while he was in police detention, he was also questioned about the murder of a Japanese woman in March 1997. This happened despite the fact that it is illegal in Japan for police to investigate a suspect for crimes unrelated to the original charge.”

The Watanabe Murder

Mainali was acquainted with Watanabe, whose dead body was discovered on March 19, 1997, at a vacant apartment in Tokyo´s Shibuya Ward. While Mainali consistently pleaded not guilty, the verdict against him was based on circumstantial evidence.

Mainali lived in an apartment close to the one where the woman´s dead body was found. He had keys to the apartment where the murder took place.

According to a report run by The Mainichi Daily News on Thursday, Japan´s Supreme Court had upheld the Tokyo High Court´s verdict on the ground that the DNA in body fluid left at the apartment´s bathroom and a strand of hair left in the room matched Mainali´s.

Back then, authorities had, however, not conducted DNA test of body fluid left in the victim´s body.

Possibility of retrial

The new DNA test results indicated that the victim might have had contact with another man when the crime took place.

Mainali may now win a retrial, which is exactly what he has been seeking.

In March 2005, Mainali´s lawyers had sought a retrial and submitted an expert´s opinion that Mainali´s body fluid was left at the apartment more than 10 days before the murder.

The Tokyo High Court ordered earlier this year that DNA tests be conducted on the body fluid left in the victim´s body, following which Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office asked experts to conduct DNA tests.

According to the Mainichi report, courts in Japan open a retrial when new evidence is found clearly showing that the convicted is innocent.

Published on: 22 July 2011 | Republica