Tapes of interrogation on Sugaya played at court

UTSUNOMIYA, Japan, Jan. 21 Kyodo -
Audiotapes of a prosecutor questioning a former murder suspect were played
Thursday at the Utsunomiya District Court, where the retrial of Toshikazu
Sugaya is under way.
Sugaya, 63, once sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1990 murder of a
4-year-old girl in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, was released last June after
serving 17 years in prison, as fresh evidence to prove his innocence arose from
new DNA tests. He will be acquitted following the retrial.
Defense lawyers expect that the playing of the interrogation process will show
how Sugaya was forced to make a false confession over the murder and how he was
victimized during the investigation and trials.
After his arrest in 1991, Sugaya was questioned not only on the 1990 murder
case but also on the 1979 and 1984 murders of two girls in Ashikaga, both of
which remain unsolved.
Three tapes recording interrogations at the Utsunomiya detention house on Jan.
28, Feb. 7 and Dec. 7, 1992, each two hours long, were played at the court.
According to the Dec. 7 tape, Sugaya denied involvement in the three cases,
telling the prosecutor, ''I am not involved. I can absolutely say so.''
When it was pointed out by the prosecutor that he had admitted to his
involvement in the 1990 murder case when he was arrested on Dec. 12, 1991,
Sugaya said, ''I thought I would be punched and kicked if I continued to say I
did not do it.''
According to the Jan. 28 tape played earlier in the day, the prosecutors,
questioning him on the 1984 case in which a 5-year-old girl was killed, asked
Sugaya ''Is it really true?'' and Sugaya responded, ''I took (the girl on my
bicycle),'' suggesting he was involved in the murder.
But Sugaya then turned to denying any involvement after being asked by the
prosecutor, ''Don't glance down. Is it a murder you committed or not?'' Sugaya
said, ''Actually, I didn't do it.''
On the 1990 case, the prosecutors said, ''Weren't you involved in this case
either, or were you? I don't want you to be sly,'' causing Sugaya to be silent.
The prosecutor asked, ''Isn't it wrong (that you committed it)?'' and Sugaya
responded, ''Yes.''
The prosecutor also told Sugaya, ''We are recording (this interrogation), but
you don't have to pay any mind to that.''
While the tape was being played, Sugaya left the court as he felt sick and the
court recessed for 20 minutes.
At a press conference after the court proceeding, Sugaya said, ''It is hard to
hear my voice. I made people in the gallery seats hear so that they should know
I am innocent.''
The prosecutor at the time, who has already left his job, will testify Friday
afternoon.
The playing of the audiotapes at the court is in line with the demand of
Sugaya's defense lawyers, who argued it is necessary to disclose them in order
to clarify why he made the false confessions, although prosecutors said it is
not necessary as Sugaya will definitely be acquitted.
The move will affect the ongoing debate about introducing full visual and audio
recordings of the whole interrogation process to prevent false convictions.
==Kyodo