Japan Immigration News

Japan court awards asylum seekers damages over prolonged detention

Release Date: 2025-06-20
Media: The Mainichi
Summary: A Tokyo District Court has ordered the Japanese government to pay 1.2 million yen (about $8,260) in compensation to two asylum seekers—a Kurdish man named Deniz and Iranian national Heydar Safari Diman—due to some of their detentions by Japan's Immigration Services Agency being ruled as unjust. The court found that these detentions, which occurred despite the men’s deteriorating physical and mental health (including a depression diagnosis), violated the International Covenants on Human Rights and constituted unjust physical restraint under Japanese immigration law.

The men, who had overstayed their visas, were detained repeatedly between 2016 and 2020 for over 3.5 years each. They filed the lawsuit in 2022 seeking 30 million yen in damages. Although the court dismissed their claim that Japan’s immigration law itself is unconstitutional, it acknowledged the human rights violations. A U.N. panel had earlier found their detention to be arbitrary.

Their lawyer hailed the ruling as a significant acknowledgment of human rights violations. The Immigration Services Agency said it would review the ruling and respond accordingly.
Tags: Kurdish,Court

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