U.S. Inmate Sues Japan Over Prison Abuses

A U.S. citizen serving a prison term in Japan is suing the Japanese government for alleged human rights violations that are substantially similar to allegations made last year by a New York-based human rights group.

Kevin Neal Mara, serving a 4 1/2-year sentence for importing more than 20 pounds of marijuana, alleges prison officials have placed him in leather restraints and in solitary confinement for days at a time for minor violations.

Mara, 32, of Fairfield, Conn., said he received 10 days in solitary confinement for opening his eyes during the reflection period before a meal. Before that punishment began, he said, he was stripped and bound in a leather harness and placed in a “protection cell” for two days. During that time, he was unable to use his hands, which were handcuffed and bound behind his back. He said he was issued a pair of open pants through which he urinated and defecated.

Justice Ministry officials denied Mara’s allegations, saying prison officials violate neither Japanese law nor inmates’ human rights. They denied similar allegations made in a 1995 report by Human Rights Watch/Asia.