charlie hall – Why do you keep reposted the misinformation that these boys admitted to smuggling? Where did you get your information from? If you have been following the case at all the point is the boys did NOT know they were doing anything illegal — and the courts have acknowledged that, which is why they were only convicted of negligence rather than smuggling.
Their story, which the Japanese court system has ACCEPTED, is that they thought they were carrying religious antiquities which are exempt from tax and completely LEGAL to be brought into the country. However due to the high value of the items as well as their delicate nature, the items were packed in false bottoms to protect them and prevent theft.
NO ONE involved in the case has rejected this story. The issue is that the judge has ruled that there was enough about the story that should have given the boys ground to be suspicious, and therefore their lack of suspicion constitutes a form of negligence. This is very different from the version you keep posting stating that they thought they were smuggling something else.
However, I agree with those pointing out that this knee jerk reaction to criticize the Japanese justice system seems dishonest. It is not a matter of “wasting energy” trying to “defend” the Japanese justice system. It is a matter of not distorting facts. These boys were not convicted of the more serious charge of drug smuggling, under which they could have faced life in prison. Even under this conviction, Yaakov Yosef was sentenced to 6 years, when the prosecution was asking for 13 — and it is likely that he will be extradited to Israel within the next 10 months. The judges also used leniency in terms of how they calculated time served. I am certainly sad about this verdict, and continue to daven for these boys, but it is hard to justify all this vitriol against the Japanese, who do not by any account appear to be singling out these boys in an unfair way, according to their laws.