BOSTON (AP) – The US Supreme Court on Saturday paved the way for the extradition of an American father and son wanted by Japan in the escape of former Nissan Motor Co. boss Carlos Ghosn.
Judge Stephen Breyer denied a bid to suspend extradition to give Michael and Peter Taylor time to appeal in their case against the US officials’ plans to hand them over to Japan.
Michael Taylor, a veteran of the US Army Special Forces, and his son are accused of helping Ghosn, who led the Japanese carmaker for two decades, flee the country last year with Ghosn tucked away in a box on a private jet. The flight went first to Turkey and then to Lebanon, where Ghosn has citizenship but no extradition treaty with Japan.
Taylor’s lawyers claim the men cannot be legally extradited and will be treated unfairly in Japan. Their lawyers told the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed Friday that the men would be treated harshly in Japan’s criminal justice system.
“The issues raised by the petitioners deserve full and careful consideration, and the commitment is enormous for them. The least that the US courts owe the petitioners is a full opportunity to litigate on these issues, including exercising their right of appeal, before being surrendered to the fate awaiting them by the Japanese government, ”wrote their lawyers.
US authorities had said they would not extradite the men to Japan while their offer to stay with Breyer was pending, a Taylors lawyer said.
Michael Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press that he feels betrayed that the US would try to extradite him to Japan after his service to the country. Taylor declined to discuss the details of the case due to the possibility that he could be tried in Japan, but insisted his son was not involved.
The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on Thursday refused to suspend extradition, ruling that the Taylors are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case. The Taylors have been locked up in a suburban prison in Boston since their arrest last May.
Ghosn had been released on bail when he escaped and was awaiting trial on allegations that he had under-given his income and breached trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. Ghosn said he fled because he could not expect a fair trial, was subjected to unfair conditions while in detention, and was barred from meeting his wife under his bail terms. Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing.