{"id":16319,"date":"2020-11-24T09:56:57","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T17:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16319"},"modified":"2020-11-24T10:00:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T18:00:03","slug":"un-human-rights-panel-of-experts-says-japan-was-wrong-to-detain-carlos-ghosn-owes-him-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16319","title":{"rendered":"United Nations human rights experts say Japan was wrong to detain former Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn; owes him compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. \u00a0I wrote back in January in my Shingetsu News Agency<\/a> column that Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan’s gaijin gulag was the right move<\/a> — not least because Japan’s heavy-handed prosecutorial powers<\/a> and treatment of criminal suspects<\/a> is in itself a violation of human rights<\/a>. \u00a0Now it turns out the United Nations would agree. \u00a0An AP article follows, courtesy of lots of people. \u00a0As Debito.org Reader JDG points out<\/a>, “How\u2019s that effort to turn Tokyo into an international financial hub going, BTW? Attracting much elite foreign talent? I guess Japan will be back in touch with the U.N. when it wants some more UNESCO listings\u2026”<\/p>\n

Given that Japan has<\/a> been shamed for decades over its human rights record<\/a>, and still has not passed a criminal law against racial discrimination as promised under international treaty it signed a quarter century ago (yes, way back in 1995!<\/a>), I doubt this will mean much. But at least it’s a delicious vindication for our advocacy camp. Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Crime<\/strong>
\nHuman rights panel: Japan was wrong to detain Carlos Ghosn; owes him compensation<\/strong>
\nAssociated Press\/Japan Today, Nov. 24, 2020<\/strong>
\nBy JAMEY KEATEN<\/strong>
\nCourtesy https:\/\/japantoday.com\/category\/crime\/Human-rights-panel-Japan-was-wrong-to-detain-Carlos-Ghosn-owes-him-compensation<\/a><\/p>\n

GENEVA — A panel of human rights experts working with the United Nations said Monday that former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was wrongly detained in Japan and has urged \u201ccompensation\u201d for him from the Japanese government.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Japanese government denounced the report as a \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d viewpoint that will change nothing in the country’s legal process.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In its opinion published Monday, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Ghosn\u2019s arrest in Japan in late 2018 and early 2019 was \u201carbitrary\u201d and called on Japan\u2019s government to \u201ctake the necessary steps to remedy the situation of Mr Ghosn without delay.\u201d A determination of whether detention is arbitrary is based on various criteria, including international norms of justice.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While Ghosn is no longer in Japan, having fled in a dramatic operation that drew headlines worldwide, the opinion could weigh on minds in courtrooms in the country and beyond. It could affect, for example, the possible extradition of two Americans, Michael Taylor and his son Peter, whom Japanese prosecutors say helped the executive sneak out of Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn, a 66-year-old with French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, led Japanese automaker Nissan for two decades, rescuing it from near-bankruptcy. He was arrested in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, in misusing company assets for personal gain, and violating securities laws in not fully disclosing his compensation. He denies wrongdoing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In December, he fled Japan to Lebanon while out on bail awaiting trial, meaning his case will not go on in Japan. Interpol has issued a wanted notice but his extradition from Lebanon is unlikely.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The five-member working group, which is made up of independent experts, called on Japan to ensure a \u201cfull and independent investigation\u201d of Ghosn\u2019s detention, and asked the government \u201cto take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The working group said that \u201cthe appropriate remedy would be to accord Mr Ghosn an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The opinions of the working group are not binding on countries but aim to hold them up to their own human rights commitments. Among its past rulings involved the case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was likewise deemed to have had his human rights violated.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The panel, which is independent from the United Nations, noted a string of allegations from Ghosn and his representatives, such as that he was subjected to solitary confinement and long interrogations at day or night, and denied access to court pleadings. His team claimed that interrogations of Ghosn were aimed to extract a confession.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s system has been repeatedly criticized by human rights advocates. The panel cited previous concerns about Japan\u2019s so-called daiyo kangoku system of detention and interrogation that relies heavily on confessions and could expose detainees to torture, ill-treatment and coercion.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government had applied \u201cappropriate procedures\u201d in the case, and it could not provide full information to the working group before a trial had begun. For that reason, the ministry added, it would be inappropriate for the working group to make a decision on the Ghosn case \u201cbased on limited information and biased allegations\u201d from him and his team.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe opinion is totally unacceptable, and is not legally binding,\u201d the ministry statement said. It also warned that the opinion could set a dangerous precedent, and \u201cencourage those who would stand criminal trial to entertain the idea that flight can be justified and prevent the realization of justice and the proper functioning of the criminal justice system in each country.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Japan can by no means accept the opinion of the Working Group regarding the case of the defendant Carlos Ghosn,” it added.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn lawyer Jessica Finelle welcomed the \u201cbrave\u201d decision by the panel and said its members had been \u201chard on the Japanese legal system\u201d and the way that Japanese authorities treated Mr Ghosn, “specifically, violating numerous times his presumption of innocence, presenting him as guilty, orchestrating two of his arrests with the media…\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn was \u201cvery happy\u201d and \u201crelieved\u201d about the opinion, she said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“He is somehow is getting back his dignity because he\u2019s been humiliated during this time that he was held in Japan,\u201d she said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn has accused Nissan and Japanese officials of conspiring to bring him down to block a fuller integration of Nissan with its French alliance partner Renault SA of France.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn’s lawyers filed a petition with the working group in March last year, appealing to its role to look into cases in which governments are alleged to have wrongly detained individuals under agreed international human rights conventions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Its members declined to speak to reporters about the opinion, the U.N. human rights office said.<\/em><\/strong>
\nENDS<\/p>\n

======================
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AP: A panel of human rights experts working with the United Nations said Monday that former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was wrongly detained in Japan and has urged \u201ccompensation\u201d for him from the Japanese government. The Japanese government denounced the report as a \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d viewpoint that will change nothing in the country’s legal process.<\/p>\n

In its opinion published Monday, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Ghosn\u2019s arrest in Japan in late 2018 and early 2019 was \u201carbitrary\u201d and called on Japan\u2019s government to \u201ctake the necessary steps to remedy the situation of Mr Ghosn without delay.\u201d A determination of whether detention is arbitrary is based on various criteria, including international norms of justice…<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s system has been repeatedly criticized by human rights advocates. The panel cited previous concerns about Japan\u2019s so-called daiyo kangoku system of detention and interrogation that relies heavily on confessions and could expose detainees to torture, ill-treatment and coercion.<\/p>\n

COMMENT: I wrote back in January in that Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan’s gaijin gulag was the right move — not least because Japan’s heavy-handed prosecutorial powers and treatment of criminal suspects is in itself a violation of human rights. \u00a0Now it turns out the United Nations would agree. \u00a0Given that Japan has been shamed for decades over its human rights record, and still has not passed a criminal law against racial discrimination as promised under international treaty it signed a quarter century ago (yes, way back in 1995!), I doubt this will mean much. But at least it’s a delicious vindication for our advocacy camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,22,33,50,20,5,37,26,4,56,11,64,7,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-cultural-issue","category-fingerprinting-nj","category-gaiatsu","category-history","category-human-rights","category-injustice","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-japanese-government","category-nj-legacies","category-problematic-foreign-treatment","category-sitys","category-united-nations","category-victories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16319"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16327,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16319\/revisions\/16327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}