OSAKA — Osaka Prefectural Police announced on Sept. 8 that they have registered a Brazilian man sought in connection with the murder of his 29-year-old wife and their daughter in Japan as an international fugitive.
Barbosa Anderson Robson, 33, who fled from Japan to his home country, is being sought internationally over the murder of his 29-year-old wife Manami Aramaki and their 3-year-old daughter Lily in their apartment in the Osaka Prefecture city of Sakai in August.
Two weeks have passed since the mother and child were found brutally stabbed to death. It has been reported in the Brazilian media that Barbosa intends to present himself to local police, but observers have pointed out that it may take some time to unravel the truth over the incident.
According to local media, Barbosa is believed to have been staying somewhere around Londrina in the state of Parana in southern Brazil since returning to his country. His lawyer indicated he is expected to present himself to police in the near future and give his own account of what happened. While reportedly admitting involvement in the murder of his wife, he was quoted as saying that it was his wife who killed their daughter.
After seeking Barbosa through Interpol, Osaka Prefectural Police plan to request assistance from Brazilian authorities in the investigation. As an Interpol member country, Brazil is expected to detain Barbosa, but Norio Tsujimoto, a professor at Kindai University who is familiar with criminal law systems overseas, said the chance of him being handed over to Japan is extremely low.
At present, Japan has concluded bilateral extradition treaties with just two countries: the United States and South Korea. The fact that Brazil’s Constitution prohibits extradition of its own citizens is also likely to affect negotiations.
If Brazil refuses to hand Barbosa over, Japanese authorities are likely to provide investigative records to their Brazilian counterparts, and seek “punishment by proxy.” This system was introduced to prevent people from getting away with crimes by fleeing, but since punishment is left up to the other country, cases can take a long time to settle.
In Japan, if criminal culpability for the murders of the mother and daughter were recognized, the death penalty could be handed down, but Brazil has banned the death penalty in principle.
(Japanese original by Yusuke Kori, Osaka City News Department)
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