Ex-Nissan Motor chief Ghosn flees Japan's "rigged justice system" leaving lawyers baffled

Source: Xinhua | 2020-01-01

Former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn said he is in Lebanon to escape "injustice and political persecution" in Japan where the ex-auto tycoon was on bail awaiting trial for alleged financial improprieties, local media said Tuesday, with the move leaving his defense counsel baffled.

According to a statement released by his U.S. representative, Ghosn, in potential violation of his bail terms which state he is not allowed to leave the country, said he is in Lebanon to escape what he also described as Japan's "rigged justice system."

"I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system," Ghosn said, according to media outlets here.

"Guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied," Ghosn, whose trial was expected to begin here in April, was also quoted as saying in the statement.

Ghosn, who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, is accused of under-reporting his remuneration for years and for embezzling company funds. He has denied all the charges, claiming company insiders conspired against him.

His lengthy detention after being initially arrested in November 2018 has been the center of controversy in a scandal that has rocked Japan and seen the international community criticize Japan's justice system, with those close to his case likening his detention to a form of "hostage justice."

Reports confirming his escape from Japan by multiple foreign media outlets and the statement by Ghosn himself, however, have shocked his defense counsel, who had been holding onto the 65-year-old's three passports, as prosecutors and the Tokyo District Court believed he might be a flight risk and had imposed strict bail conditions, including limited access to computers and him staying at a dedicated residence that was being surveilled.

Also under his stringent bail conditions, with the exception of being allowed to talk to his Lebanese wife via video-conference recently, Ghosn was prohibited from meeting with his wife, unless special permission was granted by the court.

Junichiro Hironaka, a member of Ghosn's defense counsel, described his client's possible bail jump and escape from Japan as "baffling."

"I'm surprised and baffled by the move. I don't know anything more than what has been reported," Hironaka said, adding, "If he actually left Japan, it can be presumed as violating his bail conditions."

Sources close to the matter have said that immigration here have no record of Ghosn leaving Japan, while the the Tokyo District Court said Tuesday that there have been no changes made to his bail conditions and he remains banned from traveling abroad.

Local media here, citing a Lebanese media outlet, said the former auto bigwig may have hid in box that was designed to carry musical instruments and departed from Japan undetected from a regional airport. MTV Lebanon went on to report that he managed to flee Japan with the assistance of a security company and was in possession of a French passport and entered Lebanon via Turkey legally, local media here also said.

If it confirms Ghosn left Japan without permission, the Tokyo District Court is expected to revoke his bail as called for by Tokyo prosecutors. Ghosn had posted a bond of 1.5 billion yen (13.8 million U.S. dollars), which, if his bail is revoked, will be confiscated.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has said that Japan and Lebanon do not have an extradition treaty. This means that Ghosn can not be legally handed over to Japan without Lebanon first agreeing to it.

"It is not known at this moment if the Lebanese government will be cooperative," a Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying on the matter.

If Lebanon refuses to cooperate in handing over Ghosn to Japanese authorities, Ghosn will not face trial in Japan in April, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.