Five lawyers representing a Nepalese man acquitted of robbery and murder by a district court resigned Friday to protest the Tokyo High Court's decision not to appoint them as his defense team during the state's appeal of the ruling.
According to the lawyers, the high court rejected their request that they be designated Govinda Prasad Mainali's court-appointed attorneys so that they may secure fees to pay for a Nepalese translator and cover the costs of their investigation.
The lawyers said if it was impossible for the court to appoint all of them, it should at least appoint one of them and also allow the others to be private hires.