Nine Afghans detained Oct. 3 when applying for refugee status filed a lawsuit Friday claiming their detention on suspicion of illegal entry into Japan was unlawful.
The nine, all males aged from their teens to their 40s and belonging to ethnic minority groups opposed to Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, filed the suit with the Tokyo District Court.
They were taken into custody by immigration authorities on suspicion of violating the immigration control law after the Justice Ministry and the National Police Agency ordered local authorities to tighten checks on Afghans living in Japan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Their attorneys claim detention of refugee applicants based only on nationality is "unusual."
"The Japanese policy concerning Afghan refugees is inconsistent if it tries to send the refugees in Japan back to their homeland, while the prime minister is saying that refugees in Afghanistan should be protected," one of the attorneys said.
The nine Afghans say they entered Japan between June and August using false passports or coming on cargo ships after their parents or brothers were killed by the Taliban. They had all been working illegally in various places, the bureau said.
Immediately after their detention, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference that the Afghans were detained for illegally staying in Japan, denying any connection with the terrorist attacks.
The U.S. says Islamic militant Osama bin Laden is the main suspect in the attacks in New York and Washington and is believed to be in Afghanistan.