The authorities in Japan reported today (Wednesday) that Amnon Hano Tannenbaum, a 60-year-old Israeli resident of Japan who was arrested after being accused of drug smuggling, was found dead in a detention center near Tokyo.
His lawyer claimed that the detention center and the district court refused to approve special treatment for him even though he suffers from heart problems. However, the detention center reported that Tannenbaum was found lying on a bed in a solitary cell with an elastic hair band stretched from under his chin to the top of his head, which suggests that he may have committed suicide.
However, Tannenbaum underwent heart surgery in Israel about a month before police in Japan arrested him for smuggling a large amount of illegal stimulants in November 2020. His lawyer also stated that Tannenbaum presented the authorities with information indicating his condition, but his requests to the district police and the detention center for medical assistance from March 2021 were not approved.
Last month, Tenenboim asked the court to stop his arrest so that he could receive professional medical treatment, but this request was also rejected. “I asked to stop my client’s arrest while giving a doctor’s opinion that his condition is getting worse, but the request was not accepted. It was inhumane,” said his lawyer. The Bean court refused to address the issue.