Japan failed to arrange fair trial for Ghosn: French lawyer

PARIS (Reuters) – Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn’s lawyer on Friday told Japan’s government that the authorities had failed to arrange for a fair trial that respected universal rights.

Francois Zimeray, French lawyer for Ghosn, said that it had been for Japan’s prosecutors to prove Ghosn’s guilt, not for Ghosn to prove his innocence.

“It belongs to the prosecution to prove guilt and not to the accused person to prove its innocence,” Zimeray said in a statement.

Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori launched a rare and forceful public takedown of auto executive-turned-fugitive Ghosn after he blasted the country’s legal system as allowing him “zero chance” of a fair trial as he sought to justify his escape to Beirut.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Richard Lough; Writing by Matthieu Protard; Editing by Alison Williams)