EDITOR'S CHOICE STARS STEP OUT TO HELP HOSPICE Charity midnight walk hailed a success A MUSICAL DELIGHT BUT NOT FOR TEENAGE BOYS Mamma Mia! - How can I resist ya? A CHANCE TO MEET SWINDON SOCCER STARS Footballers at this year's Cotswold Show GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Gloucestershire at heart of anti-human trafficking campaign 2 Renewed bid for better rail service 3 School enjoys Olympic success 4 In training for 'biggest ever parade' 5 Cotswold district planning applications 6 New unitary boundaries 7 North Wilts district planning applications 8 CRICKET: Poulton keeper forces dramatic tie 9 SPORTS GRANT: 120mph ace Fraser is only 12 10 CRICKET: Birdlip rout Stanley thanks to Green's 96 Today | 7 Days 1 Waste councillor calls for patience 2 Silver lining for waste fiasco 3 Facebook to waste CDC 4 Children, 10, are drinking in our streets 5 The smoking ban: One year on 6 Cotswold streets littered with rubbish 7 New NHS dentist gets green light 8 Northleach irate over waste 9 Waste chaos reigns in the Cotswolds 10 Bin man blasts waste scheme

Comment

SINCE Nick Baker was transferred to the UK after six years in a Japanese prison for drug smuggling, two Europeans have been found not guilty of the same crime.

Nick's mum Iris Baker, who lives in Cirencester, believes the international publicity given to her son's case has helped to reform evidence-gathering in the Japanese judicial system.

Nick, 36, was imprisoned in 2003 for smuggling £1.4 million worth of cocaine and ecstasy pills into Tokyo but has always protested his innocence.

He was given a 14-year sentence, later reduced to 11 years, and spent six years in solitary confinement in harsh conditions.

He has now been transferred to Wandsworth Prison to carry out the remainder of his sentence.

Since his return in April a 28-year-old Swiss woman was cleared of smuggling amphetamines into Japan and on May 1 a 54-year-old British man was found not guilty of smuggling ten kilograms of cannabis into Japan.

In both cases the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict.

Iris said: "For that to happen in Japan is a miracle where 99.7 percent of defendants are found guilty.

"I am sure that all of the publicity for Nick's case and others will have brought this to light."

She said Nick was lucky as he was allowed to see visitors twice a month.

"It is very hard for foreign prisoners in Japan to get visitors but I think that was what kept Nick going," she said.

Now Nick and his mum plan to help others who have gone through the same experience and hope to set up a charity.

Iris sends letters and money to British prisoners in Japan to offer her support.

She said: "I want to bring awareness about the abuse of human rights in these prisons.

"Japan signed the Geneva Convention for human rights and should be made to abide by it."

9:27am Friday 16th May 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login