The former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn who had fled Japan last month spoke out against the Japanese legal system and his former company of plotting a coup against him that led to his arrest during his first public appearance since he fled Japan clandestinely.
Ghosn told reported that he "did not escape justice" but rather "fled injustice and persecution".
“Having endured more than 400 days on inhumane treatment designed to break me and designed to not provide me ... justice, I [had] no other choice than to protect me and my family," Ghosn said.
He alleged that those people whose only goal was to have face saving situation had pulled the strings and manipulated the system. These individuals did not care about the facts, truth and justice, Ghosn said.
He reiterated that his decision to flee Japan was the most difficult decision of his life and that his decision was prompted by a legal system that had a conviction rate of 99.4 per cent. He said that the number was “much higher for the foreigners.”
Alleging that his ouster form Nissan and his subsequent arrest was engineered with the intention of cutting the Nissan Renault alliance and reducing influence of the French auto maker on et Japanese auto company, Ghosn said that there was no trust between the two partner companies.
“Some of our Japanese friends thought the only way to get rid of the influence of Renault on Nissan is to get rid of me. Unfortunately they were right,” he said.
Ghosn went on to allege that there was a collusion between Nissan and prosecutors in plotting his ouster and subsequent arrest.
“The collusion between Nissan and the prosecutor is everywhere," Ghosn said. "I have been told this is totally illegal.”
He also severely criticized the treatment that was meted out to him inside Japanese prison. Painting a grim picture of his life in Japanese Prison, Ghosn said that he was put inside a “tiny cell without [a] window” and was allowed to go outside of the room for only 30 minutes every day. This was not allowed on weekends because there was a lack of guards.
He further went on to describe how he was allowed to shower only twice a week even though he wanted more. And during the New Year break, there were six days when he did not have any human contact at all inside the prison cell, Ghosn claimed. He also alleged that he was prevented from taking prescription medication and was given a translator only once a week.
He alleged that he when he was questioned inside the prison, it would typically go on for up to eight hours. The Japanese legal system did not even provide him a lawyer during the interrogations.
He therefore stated that he had to choose between dying in Japan or escaping and he chose the later.
Explaining the rationale behind his decision to escape, Ghosn said that the choice was “not very difficult” – even though earlier in the press conference he had said that it was the most difficult decision of his life.
“You’re going to die in Japan or you have to get out,” he said.
Ghosn even named that people he believed were behind the plot to oust him from Nissan even though he did not name any Japanese government officials.
(Source:www.ft.com)
Ghosn told reported that he "did not escape justice" but rather "fled injustice and persecution".
“Having endured more than 400 days on inhumane treatment designed to break me and designed to not provide me ... justice, I [had] no other choice than to protect me and my family," Ghosn said.
He alleged that those people whose only goal was to have face saving situation had pulled the strings and manipulated the system. These individuals did not care about the facts, truth and justice, Ghosn said.
He reiterated that his decision to flee Japan was the most difficult decision of his life and that his decision was prompted by a legal system that had a conviction rate of 99.4 per cent. He said that the number was “much higher for the foreigners.”
Alleging that his ouster form Nissan and his subsequent arrest was engineered with the intention of cutting the Nissan Renault alliance and reducing influence of the French auto maker on et Japanese auto company, Ghosn said that there was no trust between the two partner companies.
“Some of our Japanese friends thought the only way to get rid of the influence of Renault on Nissan is to get rid of me. Unfortunately they were right,” he said.
Ghosn went on to allege that there was a collusion between Nissan and prosecutors in plotting his ouster and subsequent arrest.
“The collusion between Nissan and the prosecutor is everywhere," Ghosn said. "I have been told this is totally illegal.”
He also severely criticized the treatment that was meted out to him inside Japanese prison. Painting a grim picture of his life in Japanese Prison, Ghosn said that he was put inside a “tiny cell without [a] window” and was allowed to go outside of the room for only 30 minutes every day. This was not allowed on weekends because there was a lack of guards.
He further went on to describe how he was allowed to shower only twice a week even though he wanted more. And during the New Year break, there were six days when he did not have any human contact at all inside the prison cell, Ghosn claimed. He also alleged that he was prevented from taking prescription medication and was given a translator only once a week.
He alleged that he when he was questioned inside the prison, it would typically go on for up to eight hours. The Japanese legal system did not even provide him a lawyer during the interrogations.
He therefore stated that he had to choose between dying in Japan or escaping and he chose the later.
Explaining the rationale behind his decision to escape, Ghosn said that the choice was “not very difficult” – even though earlier in the press conference he had said that it was the most difficult decision of his life.
“You’re going to die in Japan or you have to get out,” he said.
Ghosn even named that people he believed were behind the plot to oust him from Nissan even though he did not name any Japanese government officials.
(Source:www.ft.com)