bookend dubs chek't
tyb
chek'd
Lebanon justice minister says no plans to turn ex-Nissan chief Ghosn over to Japan
Lebanon has no intention of turning former auto executive-turned fugitive Carlos Ghosn over to Japanese authorities, Lebanese Justice Minister Albert Serhan told the Mainichi Shimbun on Jan. 3.
Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Ghosn, 65, was out on bail in Tokyo awaiting trial for suspected violations of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act among other charges, when he fled to Lebanon. Serhan told the Mainichi he plans to question Ghosn soon, saying, "We will carry out the investigations that are needed, including asking Mr. Ghosn his side of the story." At the same time, Serhan said that he had no intention of extraditing the ex-Nissan chief to Japan.
Lebanon's former education minister, Hassan Diab, was appointed prime minister-designate in December 2019, and as he is in the process of forming his Cabinet, Serhan, who was justice minister in the previous administration, is in the position of caretaker justice minister.
Serhan reconfirmed that on Jan. 2 the Lebanese government received a notice from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) asking that Ghosn be taken into custody. He said that in response to this, the Lebanese government would fulfill its obligation to investigate, and that going forward, Lebanese prosecutors would deliberate whether it would be necessary to take Ghosn into custody or prevent him from leaving the country. At the same time, the justice minister emphasized that Japan and Lebanon did not have an extradition treaty, and that Ghosn "has the right to stand trial in Lebanon." He avoided stating whether Ghosn entered Lebanon on a French passport, but did say that he had entered the country with "legal documentation."
Reports say that at the Jan. 8 press conference that Ghosn is slated to hold, he will refrain from going into detail about his escape from Japan out of concern for those in the country who assisted him. Even if Lebanese prosecutors were to launch an investigation, it seems unlikely that details of Ghosn's escape will come to light.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200104/p2a/00m/0na/005000c