UN says former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn owed ‘compensation’ for arrest and detention

Officials working with a United Nations human rights group said on Monday that former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn should receive both “compensation” and “other reparations” from the Japanese government for the management of his November 2018 arrest and subsequent detention.

Ghosn was arrested soon after arriving in Tokyo and charged with a series of financial crimes, including concealing millions of dollars in revenue. He spent months in a small unheated cell before being released on bail. The Brazilian-born executive then fled to Lebanon last December. Since then, a number of people believed to have assisted in his escape have been arrested, including two Americans threatened with extradition to Japan.

Ghosn, 64, has repeatedly insisted on his innocence and was the victim of a “coup”. Although the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention did not directly address the merits of the case, it concluded that the treatment of his arrest and detention was “arbitrary. “, Recommending that the Japanese government” take the necessary measures to remedy the situation of Mr. Ghosn without delay.

The five-member group called for a “full and independent investigation” and urged the Japanese government “to take appropriate action against those responsible for the violation of (Ghosn’s) rights.” The 17-page opinion said reparations are justified, “in accordance with international law.”

There was a slight disagreement within the panel. International law professor Roland Adjovi said it was not clear whether the case had been handled arbitrarily, although he agreed that Japanese prosecutors had deprived Ghosn of his freedom.

French automaker Renault, led by Ghosn, bailed out Japan’s second-largest automaker in 1999. Ghosn went on to become Nissan’s CEO and, later, its chairman. At the time of his arrest, he was also the head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

Initially arrested on suspicion of income, Japanese prosecutors have repeatedly added new charges, using them to convince judges to extend Ghosn’s period of detention behind bars. The panel said on Monday that “Mr Ghosn’s repeated arrest appears to be an abuse of process intended to ensure that he remains in detention,” which it said was “an extrajudicial abuse of process which can have no effect. legal basis in international law. “

Ghosn spent about four months in the Tokyo detention center before being released on bail. Even then, Ghosn faced severe restrictions. He could not meet his son or his wife and could only access the Internet from his lawyer’s office.

Then, in December 2019, Ghosn pulled off a mind-blowing escape, using a chartered plane to travel to Turkey and then to Lebanon, his family’s ancestral home, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

While Ghosn remains free as long as he remains in this country, others linked to the escape plot face extradition to Japan, including former Green Beret Michael L. Taylor and his son Peter M. Taylor. , who were arrested earlier this year.

The elder Taylor, who is being held at the Norfolk County Correctional Center in Massachusetts, told a local television station last week that he called on President Donald Trump to intervene in the case.

The UN panel said it would refer Ghosn’s case to the UN rapporteur on torture and degrading treatment.