Gov't ordered to pay damages over inmate's solitary confinement

May 25, 2018 | News On Japan

May 25, 2018 (Japan Today) - A district court has ordered the government to pay 400,000 yen in damages to an inmate who was unjustifiably held for months in a cell for solitary confinement equipped with a surveillance camera.

The Kumamoto District Court said Wednesday it was unlawful to continue holding the 35-year-old man in solitary confinement with a surveillance camera even after it became unnecessary to monitor him.

Use of a surveillance camera is allowed, but it is clear that being held in a cell equipped with a camera is "mentally tougher," the court added.

According to the complaint, the inmate was held in the solitary cell, known as a protection room, from the end of January to early February 2012 after he kicked a door. Such rooms are used to hold inmates who could injure others.

The Kumamoto prison placed him in solitary confinement with a surveillance camera for seven months through October 2013 for hitting a prison officer in the face.

The inmate argued that it was unlawful to use a solitary cell with a surveillance camera without specific rules.

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