Aussie grandmother Donna Nelson due to face trial this week in Japan on drug charges

An Aussie grandmother who has been imprisoned in Japan for almost two years on drug charges her family say resulted from a romance scam is due to face trial this week.

The trial of a Perth grandmother held in a Japanese prison for alleged drug smuggling is expected to start tomorrow.

Donna Nelson, a former Greens candidate and Indigenous community leader, has been in custody since she was arrested at Narita International Airport in January 2023.

Japanese authorities allege she imported about 1.9kg of an illegal drug in her luggage, but her family claims she was the victim of a romance scam and unwittingly carried the drugs.

Her trial was due to begin in June but was delayed.

The trial will run for two weeks and a judgment is expected in December 2024. Ms Nelson is being represented at the trial by Japanese lawyer Rie Nishida.

“It’s been really hard, I think the only way we can really get by is focusing on the fact that each day that passes is another day that we’re closer to having her home,” Ms Nelson’s daughter, ­Kristal Hilaire, told ABC News as she prepared to fly to Japan with her four sisters to support their mother.

Perth grandmother Donna Nelson. Picture: Supplied

Ms Nelson’s family do not believe the Ballardong Njaki-Njaki woman would have knowingly carried drugs, and had always been “totally anti-drugs”, said Ms Hilaire.

Ms Hilaire has previously told Australian media her mother fell victim to a romance scam after meeting a Nigerian man on a dating app called Afro-­Introductions. She had planned to meet the man after speaking with him for about 18 months, when he allegedly offered her an all-expenses paid trip to Japan, via a stopover in Laos.

It is during the stopover that Ms Nelson’s family and legal team say she was tricked into carrying a suitcase containing the hidden drugs to Japan, where she was arrested.

According to a statement issued by the National Justice Project, Australian international human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson had joined the fight to free Ms Nelson.

Ms Robinson met with three of Ms Nelson’s daughters Ashlee Charles, Ms Hilaire and Shontaye in the lead-up to the trial.

‘We are deeply concerned about how Donna Nelson’s case has been handled by the Japanese authorities,” Ms Robinson said in the statement.

“The conditions of her pre-trial detention, including being prohibited from communicating with her family, have caused Donna and her family great distress.

“We pay tribute to Donna’s daughters for the work they have done supporting and advocating for their Mum in incredibly difficult circumstances.

“We are pleased to be able to support them in this effort and will be closely monitoring to the conduct of her trial to ensure that Donna’s rights are respected.”

Perth grandmother Donna Nelson. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Charles said her family was very concerned Ms Nelson’s mental and physical health and the conditions of her confinement in Chiba Prison since her arrest.

“Our mum is a very social person and it has been so hard to think of her isolated in a cell each day in a foreign country where she doesn’t even know the language,” Mrs Charles said in the National Justice Project’s statement.

“We are a really close family and we haven’t been able to speak with her directly for 21 months. We have been receiving regular updates about how she is going through her lawyers and consular staff.

“Our mum shouldn’t be treated as a criminal when she is the victim of a romance scam herself. She believed she was finally meeting a man who she had been speaking with online for over 18 months.”

Mrs Charles said they had heard from other heartbroken families worldwide who have had loved ones caught up in similar scams.

“As her trial starts we want to make sure the world, particularly all Australians, are watching her case,” she said.

“We are grateful to the Australian Government and the staff from the Australian Embassy in Japan for all of the support they have provided our family.”