UN experts have ruled that the multiple arrests and detentions of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn before he dramatically fled the country last year were “arbitrary” and have asked Tokyo for compensation.
Late last week and in an opinion strongly condemning Japan, the working group on the UN executive detention decided that “the process of arresting and detaining Mr. Ghosn four times was largely unfair.”
The working group, made up of five independent experts, who do not speak for the UN and whose views are not binding, insisted that its findings were not related to the allegations against Ghosn, but only to the circumstances surrounding his detention.
It ruled that the current 66-year-old detainee was a “volunteer” and expressed concern that his bail condition was “unusually strict”, especially during the second period when all contact with his wife was banned. Lawyer.
Experts called on Tokyo to “take the necessary steps to resolve Mr. Ghosn’s situation without delay.”
“The appropriate remedy would be to grant Mr Declaration the applicable right to compensation and other reconsideration in accordance with international law,” it said.
Former Nissan lawyers Franą§ois Zimmer and Jessica Finnell praised the “bold decision” and said it represented “a decisive turning point”.
However, the Japanese government has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Japan’s intelligence have been made more than once.
“Opinions are completely unacceptable.”
He was arrested in November 2018 on charges of financial misconduct while getting off his private jet in Tokyo.
He was granted bail a few months later, but was released three more times. He spent a total of 130 days in detention, finally smuggling himself out of Japan and arriving in Beirut on December 30 before fleeing to Lebanon.
Ghosn, of Brazilian descent, who also holds French and Lebanese citizenship, has denied the allegations against him.
The UN executive does not have the power to force states to follow its rulings, but its decisions carry respectable weight.
According to them, experts called on Japan to “ensure a full and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Ghosn’s arbitrary detention and take appropriate action against those responsible for violating his rights.”
It requested that Tokyo inform them within six months whether they had been investigated and whether Ghosn had received or received compensation.
The Japanese government said in a statement on Monday that it would help the working group correct some “obviously true errors” so that the declaration could be spent without detention.
It, however, stressed that it would be inappropriate for the working group to consider the case and stressed that it is common practice to detain suspects who may destroy evidence or release on bail.
“Fleeing a criminal trial, violating the conditions and promising to release a defendant on bail or release him, he is not pardoned in any country’s legal system.”
The working group’s inquiry warned that “those who stand for criminal justice may be encouraged to enjoy the idea that the aircraft may be just and prevent the realization of justice and the proper functioning of the criminal justice system in each country.”
