BOSTON (AP) – U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday paved way for extradition of US father and son wanted by Japan in the escape of former Nissan Motor Co. chief Carlos Ghosn .
Judge Stephen Breyer denied an offer to suspend extradition to give Michael and Peter Taylor time to file an appeal in their case challenging U.S. officials’ plans to hand them over to Japan.
Michael Taylor, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, and his son are accused of helping Ghosn, who led the Japanese automaker for two decades, flee the country last year with Ghosn hidden in a box of a private plane. The flight went first to Turkey and then to Lebanon, where Ghosn has citizenship but no extradition treaty with Japan.
Taylors lawyers argue that the men cannot be extradited legally and will be treated unfairly in Japan. His lawyers told the Supreme Court in a writ filed Friday that men should receive harsh treatment in the Japanese criminal justice system.
“The issues raised by the petitioners deserve full and careful consideration and the stakes are huge for them. The minimum that the American courts owe to the petitioners is a full opportunity to litigate on these issues, including the exercise of their rights of appeal, before they are destined for the fate that awaits them at the hands of the Japanese government. wrote his lawyers.
U.S. authorities had said they would not hand over the men to Japan while their offer of stay was pending before Breyer, a Taylors lawyer said.
Michael Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press that he feels betrayed by the United States trying to hand him over to Japan after his service in the country. Taylor declined to discuss the details of the case because of the possibility that he could be tried in Japan, but insisted his son was not involved.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States in Boston on Thursday refused to suspend extradition, considering that the Taylories are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case. The Taylor’s have been locked up in a Boston suburban jail since their arrest last May.
Ghosn was released on bail at the time of his escape and was awaiting trial on charges of failing to report his income and committing a breach of trust by misappropriating Nissan money for his personal benefit. Ghosn said he fled because he could not wait for a fair trial, was subject to unfair conditions of detention and was forbidden to meet with his wife on bail. Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing.