Michael and Peter Taylor have been accused by Japanese authorities in facilitating the escape of Carlos Ghosn the former chairman of Nissan Motors in December of 2019 after his release on bail over charges that he failed to, or hid income concerning his salary and bonuses. Thereby failing to pay the necessary taxes. Mr. Ghosn was spirted out of Tokyo in a large musical equipment box on the Shinkansen finally arriving at Kansai airport where he was loaded aboard a charted private jet and flown to Lebanon.
The Taylors have been fighting extradition on two fronts: First that bail jumping isn't a crime in Japan and second that the Japanese judicial system is weighted heavily against the accused as there is no presumption of innocence. Once in custody the Taylors can be held for 20 days and questioned by the public prosecutor. As long as charges haven't been officially laid against them their detention can continue indefinitely. During questioning they are not allowed to have a lawyer present. That allows the prosecutors to establish a narrative which the the defendants are unable to refute. Japanese police have been known to use various forms of coercion to facilitate a defendants confession. While in custody they will, if held together be unable to talk as the rules prohibit any communication between prisoners. The lights in their cells will always be on.
The Japanese justice system as was stated earlier is based upon the presumption of innocence but on confessions of ones guilt. Fighting against the charges will just result in a longer prison sentence. With a more than 98% conviction rate the Taylor's have little chance of ever being found innocent at trial. Outside of Japan their justice system is has one based on hostage taking. Confess and you'll spend some time in detention. Fight the charges and except a very large fine and a much longer time stay in the grey bar hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment