Iwao Hakamada, who was unjustly sentenced to death.
This story has a positive outcome, but we had to wait for it for 46 years! The Japanese athlete was unjustly convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. He spent 12 years in a pre-trial detention center, and then another 34 years on death row. It’s terrible to imagine what the convict was thinking about while awaiting his fate, knowing that every new day could be his last. 
Iwao Hakamada is a former athlete who has been awaiting execution for 46 years.
More than half a century ago, Iwao Hakamada was a successful athlete in Japan, but his calm and measured life was destroyed at one moment when he was charged with the murder of the head of a noodle production company and his family. In 1967, when the tragedy occurred, Iwao was working at this plant. In the vat of noodles, police found clothes with blood stains. Iwao Hakamada was arrested.
During the investigation of the case, a confession was “beat out” from the suspect through torture. Iwao was oppressed morally and physically: he was not allowed to drink or eat, he was beaten, and he was interrogated for many days. In the end, the Japanese could not stand the bullying and wrote a sincere confession. 
Hideko and Iwao Hakamada.
At the trial, Khakamada refused to testify, saying that it was made under pressure, but the court did not take this into account. The clothes found also indicated indirect non-involvement in the murder. After all, it was two sizes smaller than what Iwao wore. Despite the lack of direct evidence, after two years of investigation, Khakamada was sentenced to capital punishment - death by hanging. 
Hideko Hakamada -
the sister of an unjustly convicted man who fought for his release for 46 years.
Iwao's sister Hideko Hakamada did not lose hope for her brother's release and three times forced lawyers to file an appeal against the verdict. 44 years after Iwao was imprisoned, Hideko obtained a DNA test. Blood samples on the clothes found did not match the blood of the convict. The case was again sent for review, and only two years later Iwao was released from prison. 
Iwao Hakamada upon his release from prison.
While Hideko fought for the release of her brother, Iwao Hakamada was on death row. It is there that criminals await the execution of their sentences alone. It is unimaginable to imagine what happened to Iwao when he realized that they were about to come for him and hang him. He had been waiting for this for 46 years.
On the day of liberation, a crowd of paparazzi gathered in front of the prison, because one of the Japanese television companies decided to make a film about the life of an unjustly convicted man. When the 78-year-old man appeared on the porch, journalists began vying with each other to ask what Iwao would like to eat now. In the end, one of the operators warned the others: “Leave him alone! Don’t you see, he has forgotten what it means to live a normal life.” Then Iwao looked up and said: “I want beer and cake.” 
Iwao Hakamada gives an interview.
While working on documentary film the paparazzi went to one of the three judges, Norimichi Kumamoto, who sentenced Iwao to capital punishment. Many years ago, he was the only one who tried to defend the unjustly convicted, and in 2007 he publicly stated that he was constantly under pressure. When the judge was told about Iwao's pardon, tears flowed from his eyes. 
Hideko and Iwao Hakamada.
Iwao Hakamada himself had difficulty returning to normal life. It took superhuman efforts and patience from the sister for her brother to come out of his state of apathy and begin to smile.
Japanese Iwao Hakamada spent almost half a century behind bars awaiting the death penalty. In Japan, he became a symbol of the brutality of the police and judicial system, and in 2011 he was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-serving prisoner to face capital punishment. Now 78-year-old Khakamada will be released after 47 years. That's what the Shizuoka District Court decided on Thursday, agreeing to reconsider his case. transmits AFP agency. In ordering his release, the judge said continued detention was “against justice.”
Meanwhile, Khakamada’s sentence has not yet been overturned. The court has just begun to review the case - this was achieved by the prisoner’s family with the active support of human rights organizations, the public and a number of politicians.
The chances of canceling the execution are very high, especially considering the statement of the judge who explained the decision to release Khakamada. “There is a possibility that key evidence was fabricated by investigative authorities,” said presiding judge Hiroaki Muroyama.
Khakamada was 30 years old when he faced charges of murdering four people. Then - in 1966 - he was a professional boxer, ranked sixth in the Japanese ranking of boxers in his weight. At the same time, he worked at a factory producing ingredients for miso soup. He lived in a house with one of the factory managers. On the night of June 30, 1966, a fire broke out in the premises. Neighbors ran to the fire and firefighters arrived. According to Khakamada, he also helped put out the flames. And while clearing the rubble, firefighters discovered the bodies of an entrepreneur, his wife and two children. They were all stabbed to death. A forensic examination showed that the perpetrator stabbed each of the victims multiple times. He then likely doused the house with gasoline and set it on fire in an attempt to cover up the murder. Investigators were unable to detain anyone in hot pursuit. And a month and a half later they came for Khakamada, accusing him of brutal reprisals against his neighbors. He was never released again.
The prisoner later told family and lawyers that he was interrogated for 23 days. He was not provided with any defender at that time. During interrogations, they beat him, did not give him water and did not take him to the toilet, and demanded that he sign a confession.
The longest interrogation lasted 16 hours. As a result, investigators received a confession, which became key evidence of guilt.
The public and the court were presented with pajamas that allegedly belonged to Khakamada, with blood and gasoline stains on them. However, the pants were clearly too small for the muscular boxer. When this became clear, the pajamas disappeared, and instead investigators showed other things, also stained with blood and gasoline. At the trial, the accused retracted his words. The trial was conducted by three judges, they also studied the case materials with doubt. Of the 45 documents allegedly signed by Khakamada, they rejected 44. But, despite shaky arguments, in 1968 Khakamada was found guilty and sentenced to death.
For the next few decades, Khakamada tried to get his case reviewed. But in 1980, the country's Supreme Court confirmed the legality of the verdict. Three years later, Khakamada wrote to his son: “I will prove to you that your father did not kill anyone. The police know this better than anyone, and so do the judges who presided over the case. I will break this iron chain and return to you." Khakamada was also waiting for him elder sister who sought his release.
Later, prolonged confinement in solitary confinement damaged the prisoner's mind. He began to express his thoughts incoherently and refused to meet with his sister and other family members.
A turn in history was made in 2007 by Judge Norimichi Kumamoto, who sent the prisoner to execution.
He openly spoke about the materials of the case, about the torture during interrogations, which Khakamada spoke about in court. Kumamoto explained that he always believed the prisoner was innocent, but the votes of the other two judges outweighed his opinion. A year after the verdict, the judge resigned in protest, but his choice had no effect. “I really regret that I didn’t tell you about this earlier,” Kumamoto said. “I feel guilty because I sentenced an innocent person.” The evidence contained nothing other than his confession, written after a difficult interrogation. Now I want to be heard in the Supreme Court - at least once in my life." The judge spoke before the experts, and after that Khakamada's case attracted the attention of the international community. An international human rights organization has launched a campaign in support of the prisoner. They were joined by British parliamentarian Alistair Carmichael, who led a group of British parties against the death penalty. They visited the Japanese embassy in Britain, discussing the Hakamada case. In Japan, members of Amnesty International found the sister of a prisoner. Such attention gave her hope for her brother's release. The Japanese Federation of Lawyers, whose members criticized the methods of investigation and judicial proceedings of the last century, spoke out in defense of the prisoner. Pages appeared on the Internet, including on Facebook, in support of the Japanese.
Khakamada's new lawyers began bombarding the Supreme Court with demands to reconsider the case. And in 2012, blood samples were taken from him.
DNA analysis showed that the items being kept as evidence were not his blood.
However, it may be the blood of the victims, but it is no longer possible to establish the truth.
Hakamada's sister, now 81, happily accepted the Shizuoka District Court's decision. “I want him released as soon as possible! I want to tell him: “You’re great. Finally you are free! - she told reporters. “But I worry about his health and his mind.” If you put someone in prison for 47 years, you can’t expect him to remain sane.”
During a short medical examination three years ago, Khakamada was asked if he understood that he was sentenced to death. “Wisdom will never die,” he replied. - There are many ladies in the world, many animals. Everyone lives and feels something. Elephants, dragons... I will never die. I don't want to die." After this, the psychiatrist said that the prisoner was suffering from psychosis.
Human rights activists have criticized Japan's punishment system, which includes the death penalty. Prisoners are not told when the sentence will be carried out, and this is too cruel and painful. “Mental suffering because a person believes that every day is his last day of life. This is quite scary,” said the director of the British branch of Amnesty International. “But the Japanese justice system believes it is necessary to keep prisoners sentenced to death in the most punitive regime of ignorance, isolation and silence imaginable.”
Iwao Hakamada spent 48 years in prison, 34 of them in solitary confinement on death row. This year, Khakamada was found not guilty and was released. A monstrous miscarriage of justice led to the unfortunate Japanese spending most of his life behind bars. Now Iwao is 78 years old, he is finally free, but his mental health has deteriorated greatly. Still would! 34 years of living in absolute isolation, without communication with the outside world, without information about your own fate, every day expecting that today they will come for you and take you to execution...
Iwao Hakamada was once a famous athlete who competed in boxing and Muay Thai. But in 1967, he was accused of killing four people: the owner of a soy noodle factory, his wife and their two children. The fact is that Iwao worked at this factory, and in one of the tanks with soy dough, clothes with traces of blood were found, allegedly belonging to the former boxer. At the same time, the police stubbornly ignored the fact that Khakamada wore clothes a couple of sizes larger. It is unlikely that at the time of the crime he would have put on things that were obviously too small for him! However, this did not convince the Japanese law enforcement officers, and they arrested Iwao.
The investigation into the case was extremely brutal and with many violations. The interrogations lasted more than 240 hours, with short breaks. Iwao was beaten, not allowed to eat or drink, not allowed to go to the toilet... It is not surprising that in the end the man broke down and made a “candid” confession. True, at the very first court hearing, Khakamada renounced his testimony and stated that he admitted to committing the crime only under pressure from the police. Apparently, they put pressure not only on the accused, but also on the judges. Despite the lack of evidence, after two years of proceedings (!), the court found Iwao guilty and sentenced him to death.
Three times, Khakamada’s lawyers filed appeals, but the authorities rejected them three times, leaving the death sentence in place. However, Hideko, Iwao’s older sister, did not lose hope of proving her brother’s innocence. It was she who ensured that DNA tests were carried out in 2012, which clearly showed that the blood of the alleged criminal found at the crime scene did not belong to the former boxer. However, it took almost two more years for justice to prevail: Khakamada was released only in March of this year.
One of the major Japanese television companies decided to make a documentary about Iveo Hakamada. First, the journalists went to Norimichi Kumamoto, one of the three judges who sentenced Iveo to death. Kumamoto tried to defend Khakamada at the very beginning of the trial, and in 2007 he openly spoke about the pressure that the police put on the judicial commission. When the television company asked what the former judge thought about Khakamada’s acquittal, he first burst into tears, then smiled and replied: “I always knew that Iveo would be acquitted. I initially tried to delay the process. But we were under a lot of pressure. I have no forgiveness for what I did."
The journalists who met Khakamada upon leaving prison decided to give him a small gift - to pay for a festive dinner in any restaurant. The TV crews vying with each other asked Iveo what he wanted: “Sake? Beer? Whiskey? Fish? A couple of steaks? A plate of noodles? A former prisoner the death row prisoners just stared blankly into space... And then the videographer quietly said to the reporters: “Leave him alone! Don't you see, he forgot how to live an ordinary life. Then Iwao looked at him, smiled sadly and said: “I want beer and cake!”
Of course, no one can compensate Iwao for the time he spent on death row. We can only hope that those responsible for this horrific miscarriage of justice will be punished, the Khakamada family will receive adequate compensation, and Japanese law enforcement will become more attentive to human lives.
In the meantime, the situation with death sentences in Japan is truly terrible. Criminals sentenced to death are executed by hanging. The death sentence is personally approved by the Minister of Justice and carried out within 7 years. And all these seven years the death row inmates have been waiting in their cells for someone to come for them, living each day as if it were their last. It is not surprising that by the time of execution most prisoners go crazy. Human rights organizations criticize this state of affairs, but so far the Japanese authorities are not going to change anything in judicial practice.
This story has a positive outcome, but we had to wait for it for 46 years! The Japanese athlete was unjustly convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. He spent 12 years in a pre-trial detention center, and then another 34 years on death row. It’s terrible to imagine what the convict was thinking about while awaiting his fate, knowing that every new day could be his last.
More than half a century ago, Iwao Hakamada was a successful athlete in Japan, but his calm and measured life was destroyed at one moment when he was charged with the murder of the head of a noodle production company and his family. In 1967, when the tragedy occurred, Iwao was working at this plant. In the vat of noodles, police found clothes with blood stains. Iwao Hakamada was arrested.
During the investigation of the case, a confession was “beat out” from the suspect through torture. Iwao was oppressed morally and physically: he was not allowed to drink or eat, he was beaten, and he was interrogated for many days. In the end, the Japanese could not stand the bullying and wrote a sincere confession.
At the trial, Khakamada refused to testify, saying that it was made under pressure, but the court did not take this into account. The clothes found also indicated indirect non-involvement in the murder. After all, it was two sizes smaller than what Iwao wore. Despite the lack of direct evidence, after two years of investigation, Khakamada was sentenced to capital punishment - death by hanging.
Title="Hideko Hakamada -
the sister of an unjustly convicted man who fought for his release for 46 years. | Photo: dagospia.com." border="0" vspace="5">!}
Hideko Hakamada -
the sister of an unjustly convicted man who fought for his release for 46 years. | Photo: dagospia.com.
Iwao's sister Hideko Hakamada did not lose hope for her brother's release and three times forced lawyers to file an appeal against the verdict. 44 years after Iwao was imprisoned, Hideko obtained a DNA test. Blood samples on the clothes found did not match the blood of the convict. The case was again sent for review, and only two years later Iwao was released from prison.
While Hideko fought for the release of her brother, Iwao Hakamada was on death row. It is there that criminals await the execution of their sentences alone. It is unimaginable to imagine what happened to Iwao when he realized that they were about to come for him and hang him. He had been waiting for this for 46 years.
On the day of liberation, a crowd of paparazzi gathered in front of the prison, because one of the Japanese television companies decided to make a film about the life of an unjustly convicted man. When the 78-year-old man appeared on the porch, journalists began vying with each other to ask what Iwao would like to eat now. In the end, one of the operators pulled the rest: “Leave him alone! Don’t you see, he has forgotten what it means to live a normal life.”. Then Iwao raised his eyes and said: “I want beer and cake”.
While working on the documentary, the paparazzi went to one of the three judges, Norimichi Kumamoto, who sentenced Iwao to capital punishment. Many years ago, he was the only one who tried to defend the unjustly convicted, and in 2007 he publicly stated that he was constantly under pressure. When the judge was told about Iwao's pardon, tears flowed from his eyes.
Iwao Hakamada himself had difficulty returning to normal life. It took superhuman efforts and patience from the sister for her brother to come out of his state of apathy and begin to smile.
Each country has its own idea of how criminals should be detained. And if in Japan a convicted person awaits execution of his sentence for seven whole years in solitary confinement, then
Biography
Irina Khakamada was born on April 13, 1955 in Moscow. Father is Japanese, mother is Russian. In 1978 she graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Patrice Lumumba University with a degree in international economics. In 1981 she graduated from graduate school at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov.
In 1981 - 1982 - junior researcher at the Research Institute automated systems Department (NIIASU) under the State Planning Committee of the RSFSR.
1982 - 1989 - worked at the Higher Technical School at the plant named after. Likhachev (ZIL) senior teacher, associate professor, deputy head of the department of political economy.
In 1984 she defended her dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University them. M.V. Lomonosov.
In 1984 she joined the CPSU.
In 1988 she received the academic title of associate professor in the specialty "political economy".
In 1989, she left her teaching job, and then left the CPSU.
In 1989, she started her own business. She worked as deputy chairman of the cooperative "System + Program". In addition, she headed a group created on the basis of several Moscow cooperatives and some regional branches of the Red Cross, which was engaged in charity work and organizing a social protection system for the poor, the elderly, orphans and disabled people, large and low-income families.
Since the end of 1989, she worked on creating the concept of the Russian Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (RTSB) and after its establishment in October 1990, she became a member of the exchange Council, the chief scientific expert and the head of its information and analytical center.
In 1991, together with K. Borov, she participated in the organization of the Russian National Commercial Bank (RNCB) and the Economic News Agency (AEN).
In 1990, on Borovoy’s initiative, she was nominated as a candidate for people’s deputies of the Moscow City Council from the Sverdlovsk region, but soon after the first meeting with voters she voluntarily withdrew her candidacy.
In 1991 - 1993 - Chief scientific expert of the Russian investment company "Rinako".
She actively participated in the organization of the Economic Freedom Party (PES), created on the initiative of Borovoy in May 1992. She was elected a member of its Political Council.
From December 1992 to January 1994 - Secretary General Economic Freedom Party.
At the beginning of 1994, she was elected co-chairman of the PES, but having quarreled the day before with K. Borov, she no longer took part in the activities of the PES.
In October 1993, she was included in the list of candidates for the State Duma from the “August” bloc, created on the basis of the PES and the Party of Constitutional Democrats (PKD). The bloc was unable to collect the number of signatures required to participate in the elections. However, Khakamada, nominated by a group of voters, was elected as a deputy State Duma RF in Kashira constituency 194, Moscow (was included in the list of support for the Russia's Choice bloc). There were 10 candidates running in the district. Received 29.6% of the votes. The main rival is I.I. Petrenko, Chairman of the Board of the Commercial Bank Lyublino (10.4%).
From January 1994 to December 1995 - member of the Economic Policy Committee (subcommittee on macroeconomic policy). In the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the first convocation, she was deputy chairman of the group “Liberal Democratic Union of December 12th”.
In 1995, on the basis of the Council of Entrepreneurs “Common Cause”, which she founded in 1993, she created the “non-partisan political association “Common Cause”. She headed the list of candidates for State Duma deputies from the electoral bloc “Common Cause”. List of the electoral bloc “Common Cause” did not enter the State Duma of the Russian Federation. However, she was elected on December 17, 1995 to the new composition of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from territorial district 197 (Moscow). In the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the second convocation, she is a member of the deputy group “Russian Regions”.
Since 1996 - member of the State Duma Committee of the Russian Federation on Budget, Taxes, Banks and Finance. Sphere of legislative interests - new social and economic technologies, budget and tax policies, public finances.
October 30, 1997 By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, she was appointed Chairman of the Russian State Committee for the Support and Development of Small Business. Was a member of the Government Commission Russian Federation on operational issues, member of the Government of the Russian Federation Commission on Economic Reform, Chairman of the Advisory Council for the support and development of small businesses in the CIS member states.
In September 1998, during the formation of a new structure of the Cabinet of Ministers, the State Committee for the Support and Development of Small Business was abolished as an independent structure. By merging it with the Antimonopoly Committee, the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship Support was formed. Irina Khakamada was offered to take the position of First Deputy Minister former deputy State Duma, communist Gennady Khodyrev. I. Khakamada refused, according to some information, not wanting to work under a representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
On August 24, 1999, Sergei Kiriyenko, Boris Nemtsov and Irina Khakamada announced the establishment of the Union of Right Forces bloc. They also made up the top three of the bloc’s federal list.
In December 1999, she was elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the third convocation.
On May 31, 2000, she replaced Boris Nemtsov as vice speaker of the State Duma. (B. Nemtsov was elected head of the SPS faction instead of Sergei Kiriyenko).
On May 27, 2001, at the founding congress of the Union of Right Forces party, she was elected one of the co-chairs of the Political Council.
In December 2003, she entered the top three of the federal list of the Union of Right Forces in the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the fourth convocation. The list did not overcome the 5 percent barrier, which did not allow the Union of Right Forces to enter the new State Duma.
On January 24, 2004, at the congress of the Union of Right Forces, she was dismissed from the post of co-chairman of the Union of Right Forces (according to the decision of the congress, the institution of co-chairmanship was abolished).
He is interested in literature. Speaks French.
Married for the third time; husband - Vladimir Sirotinsky, consultant on the stock exchange. Ex-husband(second) - President of the investment company "RINAKO" Dmitry Sukhinenko.
Has three children. Son Daniil from his first marriage (born in 1978), adopted son, and in June 1997 daughter Masha was born.
