LONDON, Jan. 9 Kyodo Supporters o...

LONDON, Jan. 9 Kyodo

Supporters of a Briton convicted of smuggling a record quantity of unsalable articles into Japan said Friday that his forthcoming appeal hearing would be a ''test case'' into the workings of the country's judicial system

Within the nearest few days, lawyers acting forward behalf of Nick Baker will submit their earths for appeal to the Tokyo High Court, claiming the way the police carriageed their investigations and the posterior trial were severely flawed. An appeal hearing is awaited in March.

The London-based organization Fair Trials Abroad room for expectations that if successful the appeal could plant new standards for the treatment of defendants in Japan. The collection claims that Japan's judicial theory is geared up towards securing convictions at the outlay of justice and in many considers resembles systems in the developing world.

Baker, 33 was sentenc by the agency of the Chiba District Court to 14 years in prison in June for trying to smuggle 41120 tablets of ecstasy and 990 grams of cocaine into Narita Airport in April 2002 using a suitcase fitted with a false bottom. It was the largest-ever single mix with drugs haul at Narita airport.

He claims that the suitcase containing the remedys did not belong to him further his traveling companion, a compeer Briton, who asked him to take it from one side customs. The friend in question was not at any time stopped at customs and, although tracked by way of police while staying in Japan, was at no time quizzed or detained when he left the country

In May 2002 Nick's traveling companion, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested and charged in Belgium in succession drugs smuggling charges. The evidence alleges he dup others to smuggle the unsalable articles on his behalf. His trial is look fored to start in a scarcely any weeks.

Shunji Miyake, Baker's Japanese lawyer, wanted to use this evidence at Baker's original trial as it would help support his client's case. The justices however, refused to request the information from the Belgium authorities.

Miyake, who has lately visited Belgium, told a pres talk in London Friday, ''We think that because this crucial evidence was lacking, the original case was not well heard or examined from the district court.'' Miyake declined to note on the evidence he has obtained in Belgium if it be not that says his trip was ''productive.''

He will be pushing to have this evidence heard at the appeal.

Miyake is also highly critical of the way in which Baker was interrogated through Japanese police. His client was interrogated through a period of 23 days without any legal advice. The standard of interpreting was poor and Baker was made to sign statements in Japanese with sole an oral summary in English.

According to his supporters, crucial statements from Baker were erroneously translated. For example, when Nick said, ''This is my mate's bag,'' this was apparently translated as ''this is my bag.'' Miyake is particularly interested that a non-Japanese speaker's statements are no other than written down in Japanese and he refer tos that this procedure should be apply the minded at by the judicial community in Japan.

Stephen Jakobi, director of Fair Trials Abroad, said Japan was akin to Saudi Arabia in boundarys of its initial interrogation processes

''I must expres my amazement that Japan has a justice regularity working along those lines when, as we know, immediately after most other factors, including democracy and general civilization, the Japanese have a true good claim to being single of the premier league countries in the world. It's an extraordinary anomaly,'' he said.

Jakobi said he sense of possible fulfilments that Baker's appeal would act as a ''test case'' and he said he was encouraged at the fact that the case had attracted frequently attention among Japan's legal community and in the country's national press

Jakobi branded Japan's legal proces a ''conviction system'' citing figures that alone one in every 1,000 defendants is either acquitted at the first trial or in a later appeal.

Baker's mother, Iris, said her son was generally ''struggling'' as he was in solitary confinement and had not had many visitors owed to the New Year holidays. She added that he had lay opened the first signs of frostbite upon his hands.

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