ID :
158155
Wed, 01/26/2011 - 04:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/158155
The shortlink copeid
Probe Sought on Decision Not to Indict Chinese Skipper
Naha, Okinawa Pref., Jan. 25 (Jiji Press)--A civic group on Tuesday requested a prosecution inquest panel here to launch a probe on Japanese prosecutors' decision not to indict the captain of a Chinese trawler that collided with Japan Coast Guard ships in September last year.
The 41-year-old Chinese skipper, Zhan Qixiong, was arrested by Japanese authorities on Sept. 8 following the collision, which occurred the previous day near disputed East China Sea islands and soured the Sino-Japanese relationship.
But later that month, the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office released the skipper without deciding action against him, partly taking the deteriorating bilateral relations into account. He returned to China soon after the release.
In October, the group of five, including a journalist, filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, accusing Zhan of obstructing the official duties of the Coast Guard.
But the group was later informed by the Naha prosecutors office of its plans to refrain from indicting the Chinese skipper, according to the group.
Last Friday, the office made a formal decision not to indict the captain, explaining that there was no significant damage to the Japanese patrol ships.
The group said it makes no sense for the prosecutors to dismiss the case simply because the skipper is back in China, noting that the prosecutors themselves made the decision to release him. The argument is utterly unacceptable, the group said.
The 41-year-old Chinese skipper, Zhan Qixiong, was arrested by Japanese authorities on Sept. 8 following the collision, which occurred the previous day near disputed East China Sea islands and soured the Sino-Japanese relationship.
But later that month, the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office released the skipper without deciding action against him, partly taking the deteriorating bilateral relations into account. He returned to China soon after the release.
In October, the group of five, including a journalist, filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, accusing Zhan of obstructing the official duties of the Coast Guard.
But the group was later informed by the Naha prosecutors office of its plans to refrain from indicting the Chinese skipper, according to the group.
Last Friday, the office made a formal decision not to indict the captain, explaining that there was no significant damage to the Japanese patrol ships.
The group said it makes no sense for the prosecutors to dismiss the case simply because the skipper is back in China, noting that the prosecutors themselves made the decision to release him. The argument is utterly unacceptable, the group said.
