JRF Joins and Signs the Asian Innocence Declaration (2018.08.25)

Asian Innocence Declaration (2018.08.25)

“Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere”......Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are nongovernmental organizations and activists in Asia concerned with criminal justice miscarriages of justice. We believe that wrongful convictions are an inevitable reality in the criminal procedures of all nations, and the harm inflicted by wrongful convictions on innocent individuals, society, the judiciary, and human rights cannot be ignored. Therefore, we jointly proclaim the Asian Innocence Declaration as follows:

1. We are willing to dedicate ourselves to the Asian Innocence Movement, cooperate together, and strive to rectify errors within judicial procedures to prevent innocent persons from being imprisoned.

2. We shall steadfastly uphold the principle of the presumption of innocence and provide relief resources and support to innocent individuals within the judicial process.

3. We shall engage in research on wrongful convictions, analyze the causes of miscarriages of justice, and promote judicial reforms to prevent wrongful convictions.

The Taiwan Association for Innocence, the Judicial Reform Foundation (Taiwan), Innocence Project Japan (Japan), and the Wrongful Conviction Rescue Lawyers of the Seoul Bar Association (South Korea) jointly signed this at the Facing Freedom: 2018 Annual Forum on Innocence and Asian Innocence Movement Exchange Workshop held at the Tsai Lecture Hall, College of Law, National Taiwan University.

STATEMENT OF THE ASIAN INNOCENCE MOVEMENT ACTIVISTS
2018.08.25

“Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere”﹍﹍﹍Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are nongovernmental organizations and activists in Asia who are dedicated to freeing the innocent and preventing wrongful convictions. We believe that miscarriages of justice are inevitable in each nation and that they bring significant harm to the innocent, civil society, the judicial system and human rights.

Therefore, we hereby declare our fundamental mission as a part of the Asian Innocence Movement as follows:

1. We are willing to contribute to the Asian Innocence Movement and work as one to right flaws in our judicial systems in order to prevent future wrongful convictions.

2. We stand by the principle of the presumption of innocence and are willing to provide pro bono legal support to the innocent.

3. We will devote ourselves to redressing the causes of wrongful convictions and reforming our criminal justice system to prevent such convictions from occurring.