The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday acquitted Govinda Mainali, who served 15 years of a life sentence for a murder he did not commit. He was acused of killing a Japanese sex worker in 1997. Based on DNA samples, the Tokyo court exonerated Mainali.

Organising a press conference in Kathmandu soon after the acquittal, Mainali said, “I had faith that the verdict will be in favour of truth. The acquittal is the victory of all the Nepali people.”

He lambasted the Japanese judiciary system and demanded an apology from the Japanese police, administration and concerned authorities. “The Japanese police, administration and concerned authorities should apologise to me, family and Nepali citizens for my illegal detention for 15 years. The Japanese judiciary system is a mess,” he said.

Mainali said that he is writing a book about the hassles, trauma and torture that he received during 15 years in jail.

Govinda’s brother, Indra, also sought an apology from Japanese authorities.”It is self-explanatory that his detention was illegal and my brother was wrongly framed. It has questioned the credibility of the Japanese judiciary system,” he said. “Why DNA was not tested for 15 years and on what ground they kept Govinda in jail?” he asked. Now it is the duty of the Nepal government to seek an apology from the Japanese side, he said.

With the acquital, Mainali will now initiate a compensation process against the unlawful punishment. The process may take a year.

Mainali, who went to Japan to work in a restaurant, was first arrested in 2000 on charges of overstaying. Two years later, Japanese authorities pressed him with charges of rape and murder that had taken place near Mainali’s residence in 1997.

A final October 2003 verdict handed Mainali a life sentence. However, the court verdict went awry after a DNA test showed that Mainali’s semen did not match samples collected from the dead woman’s body. Mainali then appealed for a retrial in 2005.

However, even after the Tokyo High Court gave a clean chit to Mainali this year, prosecutors had been demanding that he be sent behind bars once again, claiming that all charges were genuine. Mainali had arrived in Nepal on June 16.

Published on: 8 November 2012 | The Kathmandu Post