Japan wants Britain to extradite three suspects, amid Ghosn’s accusations of unfair treatment
- The former Nissan chairman says Japanese authorities contravened his human rights, including questioning him without a lawyer present
- The case and others like it has put Tokyo’s treatment of foreign criminal suspects under the microscope
Daniel Kelly, 41, Joe Chappell, 33, and a man who has not been named as he was 19 when the crime was allegedly committed are accused of entering a jewellery shop in Tokyo’s Shibuya district in November 2015, assaulting a security guard, smashing showcases and stealing items with an estimated value of Ұ106 million (US$960,000).
The men are not believed to be in custody in Britain, but media reports suggest British authorities have information as to their whereabouts and would be willing to hand them over to Japan. That would set something of a precedent as the two countries do not have a formal extradition treaty.
The detention and questioning of Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, in connection with allegations of fraud, has raised concerns over the way Japan treats criminal suspects.
Since he managed to flee to Lebanon in late December, Ghosn has accused the Japanese authorities of “hostage justice” and claimed they contravened his human rights, including long hours of questioning without a lawyer present.
More recently, Australian journalist Scott McIntyre was held for 44 days in the same centre as Ghosn after he entered the lobby of an apartment block in an attempt to locate his children. His former wife, a Japanese national, had refused him access to the couple’s children for 250 days. She had previously accused McIntyre of violence, which he denies.