Second bite at the cherry possible in Lucie Blackman case - Prosecution appeals against acquittal

April 24 2007

Justice campaigners say that there is a good chance that the acquittal of the Japanese businessman Joji Obara can be overturned on appeal. The family of British bar hostess Lucie Blackman felt that justice had been denied to their daughter when Obara was cleared of killing her.

Fair Trials Abroad (FTA) Head of Legal Team Sabine Zanker said that acquittal is a very rare occurrence in Japan, a country which has a staggering conviction rate of 99.97% in criminal cases.

“There was a great deal of circumstantial evidence in this case, but apparently not enough to justify a conviction. The condolence money paid to Lucie’s father by a friend of Mr. Obara would have had no bearing on the verdict; such payments are quite common in Japan and could only have mitigated the sentence had Mr Obara been found guilty” she added.

“The prosecution has apparently already appealed to the Tokyo High Court and under Japanese criminal law they may introduce new evidence at this stage.”

“The acquittal could therefore be overturned at the appellate stage. The process itself is likely to take about a year” concluded Sabine Zanker.