Anonymous hearing A shielding board in the auditorium is also the first trial of the disabled case

Anonymous hearing A shielding board was also installed in the auditorium The first trial of the case of disability killing 18:01 on January 8

Trial of a case in which 19 residents were killed at a facility for the mentally disabled in Sagamihara City. At the first trial on August 8, victims were given anonymous hearings with their personally identifiable information hidden, and shields were set up in the auditorium to keep other survivors invisible to other observers. An unusual response was taken.

In the court, a white shield plate with a height of about 1 meter and 80 cm was installed in a part of the auditorium so that the bereaved family etc. could not be seen by other observers.

Regarding this response, the presiding judge stated at the beginning that "we will keep part of the auditorium invisible with a shield, taking into account the privacy of victims and bereaved families."

The presiding judge also explained that before the prosecutor aloud the indictment, the personally identifiable information will be concealed and anonymous hearing will be conducted upon request of the victim.

When the prosecutor reads out the indictment, the prosecutor combines the kanji characters “A”, “Otsu” and “Hei” with the alphabet, and for the 19 murderers, “A and 18 others”. I said.

In addition, we read out the victims of the attempted murder case as "Otsu A and 23 others", and read the staff of the facility as "Hei A".

After reading out the indictment for the defendant, she provided a list showing the indictment and the name of the victim.

On the other hand, Kazuya Ono, a victim of the attempted murder case, whose only one is being heard this time, did not appear in the hearing on the 8th.

A 71-year-old woman who heard the trial anonymizing the victim said, "19 of the dead and injured were treated anonymously and treated as if they did not exist. I am sorry because I feel that it has been done.I think that this response to installing a shielding board in the court shows the state of society today. "

A 45-year-old woman in a wheelchair from Hyogo Prefecture, who watched the trial, said, "I am sad when I hear the judge explaining the victim's name as" A "or" A or B. " I had 19 personalities and wanted to call each of them, and I was so angry that I had to go to trial anonymously. "

In the anonymous hearing, the interview group

At this trial, the victims are expected to be heard anonymously, except for Kazuya Ono, who was seriously injured.

From the outset, the police took an unusual response to anonymously announce all 19 deceased as "family intentions". The situation will continue even in trials where disclosure is the principle.

There will be a shield between the seats where the family members sit and the public seats, a court that we have never experienced before.

In this case, I could not see the person who died due to being anonymous, but I learned the name in the interview and heard from the bereaved family and related people, so 19 people were And a part of my life.

There was a rich emotion that was completely different from the defendant's assertion, "I can only make unhappy" or "I can't communicate." There was a life that I had spent while being deeply involved with people around me.

Many people told me that they were anonymous, and the interview team set up a special site called "19 Life" and told each one of them with illustrations.

In response, we received various opinions. While there were voices saying "anonymity is unavoidable in a society where people and families with disabilities are discriminated against and prejudiced," others with disabilities and their families say, "Name your life like any other case. Some people said, "I want you to communicate with me," "Communicating your name is one step to eliminating discrimination."

We discussed how to convey it even on the first trial on the 8th. In the trial, defendants told 19 people that they would repeat discriminatory statements different from the actual situation and fear that their family members would be in tune with it, but among those defendants, for the first time, they tried to communicate only the name below. Some survivors have been determined, and others have been trying to confront the defendant in the form of hearing or speaking directly in court.

While listening to the story, I have been worried for almost three and a half years, and have accepted that each decision was made at the very last minute. We believe that this has led to anonymous hearings, and we will continue with the first trial.

NHK has been telling people who died in accidents, incidents, disasters, etc. by their real names. "Name" is the person's very existence, and nobody can make a difference.

In this case, we will be heard anonymously, but we will continue to work with one in order to regain the dignity of the 19 people unilaterally injured by the defendant and eliminate discrimination and prejudice in society. We will continue our efforts to convey the life of one person.