Japan Refuses to Free Chess Great Fischer
1 hour, 42 minutes ago
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By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - Japanese authorities refused to free Bobby Fischer even though Iceland has issued a passport to the chess great, who is stressed and fatigued after eight months of immigration detention, his lawyers and supporters said Monday.
Photo
AFP/File Photo
Related Links
• Bobby Fischer Web Sites
Japan ordered Fischer deported to the United States after catching him trying to board a flight for the Philippines with an invalid U.S. passport in July. Fischer, who turns 62 on Wednesday, is wanted by Washington for violating U.S. sanctions against Yugoslavia by playing a chess match there in 1992.
"He is at the end of his rope, physically and mentally," said his fiancee, Miyoko Watai, who heads the Japan Chess Federation.
Watai said Fischer, who became world chess champion in his 1972 match in Iceland against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, was placed in solitary confinement for four days through Sunday after fighting with guards who refused to give him an egg for breakfast. Watai and other Fischer supporters gave varying accounts of the dispute, and immigration officials were unavailable for comment.
Supporters said Fischer's lawyer had picked up his passport at the Icelandic embassy and his plane ticket had been bought.
"We are talking about a human tragedy in the making here in Japan," said Gudmundur Thorarinsson, a former member of Iceland's parliament who met with Fischer Monday. "What he did was to play chess in Yugoslavia. He sought asylum in Japan because he loved Japan and the Japanese people. But the Japanese have kept him in a detention center for nearly eight months."
Fischer initially challenged the deportation order in court and then sought political asylum from Japan, which refused his application. He is now seeking to have the destination of the deportation order changed to Iceland.
On Sunday, a Japanese newspaper reported that U.S. prosecutors are also building a case against Fischer for alleged tax evasion. It said the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) is expected to seek a grand jury indictment against Fischer and charge him with five counts of tax evasion. The grand jury is set to start April 5.
Contacted concerning the case, an IRS spokesman said federal privacy laws prohibit the agency from commenting on individual taxpayers or audits.
If Fischer is indicted, Japan would be obligated to send him to the United States under a bilateral treaty. Fischer had not been informed of any such charges, his supporters said.
The Icelandic passport gives Fischer special permission to travel to 15 Western European countries. But Fischer must first win approval to leave the detention center.
"Legally, there is no reason why he can't leave the country for Iceland," said his lawyer, Takeshi Ohashi. "We demand the government release him as soon as possible."
1 hour, 42 minutes ago
Add to My Yahoo! World - AP Asia
By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - Japanese authorities refused to free Bobby Fischer even though Iceland has issued a passport to the chess great, who is stressed and fatigued after eight months of immigration detention, his lawyers and supporters said Monday.
Photo
AFP/File Photo
Related Links
• Bobby Fischer Web Sites
Japan ordered Fischer deported to the United States after catching him trying to board a flight for the Philippines with an invalid U.S. passport in July. Fischer, who turns 62 on Wednesday, is wanted by Washington for violating U.S. sanctions against Yugoslavia by playing a chess match there in 1992.
"He is at the end of his rope, physically and mentally," said his fiancee, Miyoko Watai, who heads the Japan Chess Federation.
Watai said Fischer, who became world chess champion in his 1972 match in Iceland against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, was placed in solitary confinement for four days through Sunday after fighting with guards who refused to give him an egg for breakfast. Watai and other Fischer supporters gave varying accounts of the dispute, and immigration officials were unavailable for comment.
Supporters said Fischer's lawyer had picked up his passport at the Icelandic embassy and his plane ticket had been bought.
"We are talking about a human tragedy in the making here in Japan," said Gudmundur Thorarinsson, a former member of Iceland's parliament who met with Fischer Monday. "What he did was to play chess in Yugoslavia. He sought asylum in Japan because he loved Japan and the Japanese people. But the Japanese have kept him in a detention center for nearly eight months."
Fischer initially challenged the deportation order in court and then sought political asylum from Japan, which refused his application. He is now seeking to have the destination of the deportation order changed to Iceland.
On Sunday, a Japanese newspaper reported that U.S. prosecutors are also building a case against Fischer for alleged tax evasion. It said the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) is expected to seek a grand jury indictment against Fischer and charge him with five counts of tax evasion. The grand jury is set to start April 5.
Contacted concerning the case, an IRS spokesman said federal privacy laws prohibit the agency from commenting on individual taxpayers or audits.
If Fischer is indicted, Japan would be obligated to send him to the United States under a bilateral treaty. Fischer had not been informed of any such charges, his supporters said.
The Icelandic passport gives Fischer special permission to travel to 15 Western European countries. But Fischer must first win approval to leave the detention center.
"Legally, there is no reason why he can't leave the country for Iceland," said his lawyer, Takeshi Ohashi. "We demand the government release him as soon as possible."
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