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A group of human rights experts working with the United Nations said on Monday that former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was wrongfully arrested in Japan and called for “compensation” for him from the Japanese government.
The Japanese government denounced the report as a “totally unacceptable” view that will not change anything in the country’s legal process.
In its opinion published on Monday, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Ghosn’s arrest in Japan in late 2018 and early 2019 was “arbitrary” and called on the Japanese government to “take the necessary measures to remedy Mr. Ghosn’s situation without delay. “The determination of the arbitrariness of detention is based on various criteria, including international standards of justice.
While Ghosn is no longer in Japan, having fled last year in a dramatic operation that garnered headlines around the world, the opinion could weigh on the minds of courtrooms in the country and beyond. It could affect, for example, the possible extradition of two Americans, Michael Taylor and his son, Peter, who according to Japanese prosecutors helped the executive escape from Japan.
Ghosn, a 66-year-old with French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, drove Japanese carmaker Nissan for two decades, saving it from near-bankruptcy.
He was arrested in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, abuse of company assets for personal gain, and violation of securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. Deny the evil.
Last December, Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon while on bail awaiting trial, which means his case will not go ahead in Japan. Interpol has issued a wanted notice but his extradition from Lebanon is unlikely.
Non-binding opinion
The five-member working group, made up of independent experts, called on Japan to ensure a “full and independent investigation” into Ghosn’s detention, and called on the government “to take appropriate measures against those responsible for violating his rights. “
The working group said that “the appropriate remedy would be to grant Mr. Ghosn an applicable right to compensation and other compensation”.
The views of the working group are not binding on countries, but aim to keep them living up to their human rights commitments. One of his past sentences involved the case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was found to have his human rights violated.
The jury, which is independent of the UN, took note of a number of allegations by Ghosn and his representatives, such as that he was subjected to solitary confinement and lengthy interrogations during the day and night and denied access to court briefs. His team said Ghosn’s interrogations were intended to extract a confession.
The Japanese system has been repeatedly criticized by human rights advocates. The jury cited previous concerns about Japan’s so-called “daiyo kangoku” detention and interrogation system, which relies heavily on confessions and could expose detainees to torture, ill-treatment and coercion.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government had applied “appropriate procedures” to the case and could not provide complete information to the working group before the trial began. For this reason, the ministry said it would be inappropriate for the working group to make a decision on the Ghosn case “on the basis of limited information and biased allegations” by him and his team.
“The opinion is completely unacceptable and is not legally binding,” the ministry statement said. He also warned that the opinion could set a dangerous precedent and “encourage those facing criminal prosecution to consider the idea that flight can be justified and prevent the establishment of justice and the proper functioning of the criminal justice system in every country”.
“Japan cannot in any way accept the opinion of the working group on the case of the defendant Carlos Ghosn,” he added.
Ghosn accuses conspiracy
Ghosn’s attorney Jessica Finelle welcomed the jury’s “bold” decision and said its members were “tough on the Japanese legal system” and the way Japanese authorities treated Mr. Ghosn, ” in particular, violating his presumption of innocence numerous times, presenting him as guilty, orchestrating two of his arrests with the media … “
He said Ghosn was “very happy” and “relieved” by the opinion.
“He is somehow regaining his dignity because he was humiliated during this time he was held in Japan,” he said.
Ghosn accused Nissan and Japanese officials of conspiring to take it down to block a more complete integration of Nissan with its French alliance partner Renault SA.
Ghosn’s lawyers petitioned the working group in March last year, appealing to its role in examining cases in which governments would unfairly detain individuals under agreed international human rights conventions.
Its members refused to speak to reporters about the opinion, the United Nations human rights office said.
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