The wife of ousted Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn has called on an international human rights watchdog to shed light on what she said was his harsh treatment by Japan's "hostage justice" system.
Carole Ghosn made the pitch in a letter to Human Rights Watch, her spokesperson told Kyodo News on Sunday, adding it was sent out on Dec. 28.
"Under Japan's "hostage justice" system, prolonged detention to extract confessions is one of the prosecutors' primary investigative tactics," she said in the letter.
(Carlos Ghosn with wife Carole at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in May 2017)[Getty/Kyodo]
"In Japan, suspects are routinely and repeatedly interrogated by prosecutors outside the presence of their lawyers; have no possibility for bail until after they have been indicted; have limited access to counsel; and are forced to sit and listen to interrogations even when they choose to exercise their right to remain silent," Carole said.
Related coverage:
Tokyo prosecutors indict former Nissan boss Ghosn on fresh charges
Ghosn recovering from fever as detention continues
Ghosn eyed 3 bil. yen loan to Saudi businessman through Nissan
"My husband's treatment is a case study in the realities of this draconian system."
On Friday, Tokyo prosecutors charged Ghosn with two additional counts of financial misconduct in a further blow to the auto industry executive, who has remained in detention since his arrest in November.
Ghosn's lawyers requested bail at the Tokyo District Court following the indictments. But his chief lawyer has previously been pessimistic about the 64-year-old being released soon from a detention center in the Japanese capital, partly because he is continuing to deny all the allegations against him.
