Donna Nelson says she will ‘never stop fighting for my freedom’ after Japan drug smuggling conviction

Perth grandmother Donna Nelson says she will “never stop fighting for my freedom and for truth” after her drug smuggling conviction in Japan. In her first public statement since Wednesday’s verdict, Nelson said she was “extremely disappointed” with the trial outcome. The prominent Indigenous leader was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of smuggling 2kg of meth into Japan, despite her claims she was the victim of an online love scam. “We presented the facts accurately, truthfully, and the prosecution failed to argue beyond a reasonable doubt their side of the argument,” Nelson said in a statement via her lawyers. “The tears I shed in the courtroom today were not for myself. It was for my daughters, my grandchildren, and my family, who are waiting for me back home; who have been made to grieve all over again. “I would like to thank my family, the government of Australia, and my legal team. I will never stop fighting for my freedom and for truth. Nelson was convicted of the crime by a panel of three professional judges and six members of the public in a decision delivered in Chiba, 40km east of Tokyo, on Wednesday. The 58-year-old, who hung her head and cried as the verdict was handed down, was also fined $10,400. Nelson and her team have two weeks to launch their likely appeal, a process that could take up to a year to get back before a judge. Loved ones have were quick to launch a GoFundMe to “free our mum and bring her home, where (she) belongs”. Asked about the verdict on Thursday, federal Health Minister Mark Butler said it would be a “really distressing result for Ms Nelson and for her family and friends”. “Our Government, through the usual consular pathways, has been providing support to Ms Nelson and the usual sort of consular assistance that you’d expect in a case like this,” Mr Butler told ABC News Breakfast. “As Ms Nelson and her family decide upon next steps we’ll continue to provide that support, as I think all of your viewers would expect us to.” WA Premier Roger Cook described the verdict as a “kick in the guts” for Ms Nelson’s family. “I‘d note that they’ve appealed the sentence, and I wish them all the very best in relation to that appeal, and our hearts just go out to Donna and her family,” he said. “We all have a view about whether justice has been served in relation to Donna Nelson, but this is the Japanese justice system, it’s not for us to question. “She’s been found guilty of a crime and she’s been sentenced, and now she has avenues of appeal in relation to that. In due course, I hope we may see a situation where Donna Nelson is brought home sooner rather than later.” Prosecutors in Japan — a country with strict drug laws — had asked for Nelson to be thrown in jail for 10 years and fined $31,000 if found guilty. Nelson was arrested at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo in January 2023 when customs officials found about 2kg of meth hidden in a double-bottom suitcase she was carrying. The grandmother said she received the suitcase from an acquaintance of a man she met on social media in 2020, and brought it from Laos to Tokyo as instructed. The man she thought she was romantically linked with told her he was a Nigerian fashion business owner and paid for her trip, her lawyers said. She was supposed to meet up with him in Japan but he never showed, according to prosecutors. Nelson was arrested on the spot and later charged with violating the stimulants control and customs laws. - With AAP