American father and son accused of helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan have been handed over to Japan on Monday, according to their lawyers.
Japanese officials confirmed the arrest, saying in a statement that the former US Special Forces member Michael Taylor and his son Peter have been arrested “on suspicion of helping a criminal hide and escape.”
The father and son landed at Narita airport outside Tokyo. Media coverage was limited as local officials held up silver plastic sheets to shield them from cameras.
Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor, who had been in US custody since their arrest in May, battled for months to avoid extradition from their country over the case, claiming the risk of torture in Japanese prison.
However, they failed to convince the United States Supreme Court, which cleared the way for their extradition to be trialed in Japan.
Japanese prosecutors intend to conduct a firm investigation, which shouldn’t last more than 3 weeks, according to their local laws, after which the Taylors could be released or formally charged and sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison for a single charge.
Their single charge is related to helping Ghosn escape and concealed it while knowing that he was on bail and banned from leaving the country, according to the prosecutors.
Last week, Turkey convicted 3 people for their alleged involvement in Ghosn‘s escape, sentencing to jail an executive from the Turkish jet company MNG along with two pilots.
Meanwhile, the main person of interest remains in Lebanon, safe from any extradition treaty, and coordinating for the production of his intriguing escape in a movie and a series starring Mark Berger and oscar-winning actor Sam Rockwell.
Editor’s Note – 03/03/2021 4am Beirut time: An image was used incorrectly identifying Rudy Taylor as Peter Taylor. The image has been replaced by one the family supplied us.
