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Appeal to follow Blackman verdict Appeal to follow Blackman verdict
(about 12 hours later)
Prosecutors are to appeal against the acquittal of the man accused of killing British bar hostess Lucie Blackman in Japan, her mother said. Prosecutors are to appeal against the acquittal of the man accused of killing British bar hostess Lucie Blackman in Japan, her mother has said.
Joji Obara, 54, was cleared of any involvement in the death of the 21-year-old but was jailed for life for raping nine women, one of whom died.Joji Obara, 54, was cleared of any involvement in the death of the 21-year-old but was jailed for life for raping nine women, one of whom died.
Miss Blackman's mother, Jane Steare, of Sevenoaks, Kent, said she was pleased by the appeal and fully supported it. Miss Blackman's mother, Jane Steare, of Sevenoaks, Kent, said she was pleased with the appeal and fully supported it.
"All I have ever wanted is justice for my darling daughter Lucie," she said."All I have ever wanted is justice for my darling daughter Lucie," she said.
A judge said there was no proof Obara alone was responsible for the death of Miss Blackman, but sentenced him for the other offences at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday. Mrs Steare said the British Embassy in Tokyo had confirmed that the city's public prosecutor would appeal against Obara's acquittal.
I believe that there are grounds to be optimistic Jane Steare class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6590895.stm">Japan's press react to case "I believe there are grounds to be optimistic that an appeal will succeed," she added.
Ms Blackman had disappeared while working as a bar hostess in the Roppongi bar district of Tokyo. Her body was later found dismembered in a seaside cave in 2001. Meanwhile, Mrs Steare is involved in a dispute with Tim Blackman, her ex-husband and Miss Blackman's father, over her claims that he could have undermined the prosecution's case against Obara.
Mrs Steare said the British Embassy in Tokyo had confirmed that the city's public prosecutor would appeal against the acquittal. I'm afraid to say the lack of justice for us has been the failure of the prosecution team to develop the case adequately Tim Blackman
She said: "I believe that there are grounds to be optimistic that an appeal will succeed." She has criticised him for accepting 100 million yen (£450,000) from a friend of the defendant last year.
Japanese businessman Joji Obara has been jailed for life Mrs Steare said she and Mr Blackman had both received "unequivocal" guidance that accepting condolence money could lead to a more lenient sentence.
After the sentencing on Tuesday, Miss Blackman's father, Tim Blackman, from the Isle of Wight, called for an appeal at a press conference alongside his surviving daughter Sophie. "Those who have colluded with Obara's lawyers and taken money from him will have blood on their hands," she said.
He said: "There is nothing that will change that Lucie is dead, but in many respects Lucie has been robbed of her justice." But Mr Blackman argued the payment was not "blood money" and said such "offers of condolence" were common in Japan and did not affect the court case.
Mrs Steare said she was "heartbroken" at the verdict but added that giving up was "not an option". He told the BBC: "The judge stated in court that all the payments made did not affect the sentence."
She said: "This aching void in my heart feels like it will never go away." Mrs Steare has also released a statement she said was signed by her ex-husband in September 2006, which questioned "key elements of the prosecution's case".
Prosecution lawyers had claimed Obara drugged and raped Miss Blackman before she died, and then chopped up her body and encased her head in concrete. Tim Blackman returned to the UK from Japan on Thursday
But Judge Tsutomu Tochigi ruled there was no firm evidence that Obara was involved in the former British Airways flight attendant's death. It referred to the cause of Lucie Blackman's death being unknown and that Obara's DNA was not found on her body.
But Matt Searle, from the Lucie Blackman Trust, said the aim of the document at the time was "to highlight any discrepancies in the hope that prosecutors would look into the matter further".
Mr Blackman himself said: "My ex-wife was not in court and is making ignorant statements for maximum damage to me.
"I'm afraid to say the lack of justice for us has been the failure of the prosecution team to develop the case adequately."
Lawyers had claimed Obara drugged and raped Miss Blackman before she died, and then chopped up her body and encased her head in concrete.
But a judge at Tokyo District Court ruled there was no firm evidence that he was responsible for her death.