Police Fabricates Crime with Decoy

Travelers in Japan have to be careful. In the retrial on the case of violating Sword and Firearms Control Law in Otaru, Hokkaido, in 1997, Sapporo Regional Court found a Russian seaman, Andrei Novosyolov, innocent on Monday. Novosyolov argued that he was asked by an agent of police, who wanted to accumulate job achievement of arresting gun smugglers, to bring a gun from Russia. The court did not make decision on that fabrication of crime by police.

In November 1997, Hokkaido Prefectural Police arrested Novosyolov in the port of Otaru with suspect of illegal possession of a handgun. The lawyers for Novosyolov argued that he brought that gun with request from a Pakistani man to exchange it for a car, who was a secret agent of the police, and he was innocent and a victim of illegal investigation by the police. But, Sapporo Regional Court sentenced two years in prison in 1998 and Navosyolov spent two years there.

In another trial on a case of drug crime in 2002, a defendant of ex-policeman testified that he made false statement in the trial of Navosyolov. Navosyolov filed a petition for retrial. In a civil trial for Navasyolov’s demand of compensation in 2009, a police officer admitted their investigation as an undercover operation called “decoy investigation.” Sapporo Regional Court in 2010 recognized illegality of the investigation in Navosyolov’s case.

There are two types of decoy investigation. One is offer of opportunity to a person who has intention of committing crime and another is inducement of crime to a person who does not have any intention for crime. The inducement of crime is apparently illegal. Sapporo Regional Court realized last March that the investigation in Navosyolov’s case was inducement of crime and decided to start retrial.

In the retrial, the prosecutors gave up its effort to prove illegality of Navosyolov’s activity and requested a sentence of innocence. “Although there is an evidence of bringing a gun into Japan, no evidence to reinforce Navosyolov’s confession is found,” told the head of judges, Keiichi Nakagiri. But, Nakagiri did not refer to illegality of decoy investigation.

Possible story is like this. Hokkaido Police set a decoy of car for Russian shipmen. Navosyolov thought it a good deal, if a useless gun would be exchanged to an excellent Japan-made car. The policeman and his organization were proud of their achievement of arresting many innocent people in a suspect of gun possession. But, the Russian man refused to be a victim of obsolete oppression of law enforcement system in Japan. Any objection? Make it in the court.