Lawyers of ousted Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn are set to give a news conference on Tuesday, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) stated on its website on Monday, their first such public appearance.
The three lawyers, headed by chief lawyer Motonari Otsuru, are going to speak at the FCCJ hours after Ghosn makes his first public appearance in seven weeks at a Tokyo court following his request of an open hearing to hear the reason for his ongoing detention.
Ghosn’s arrest has put Japan’s criminal justice system under worldwide scrutiny and sparked criticism for some of its practices, such as keeping suspects in detention for long periods and barring defense lawyers from being present during interrogations, which can last eight hours a day.
The lawyers’ news conference will be at 3:00 p.m. local time (0600 GMT), the FCCJ stated. Otsuru’s office confirmed to Reuters that the news conference is going to occur but could not provide more details.
Ghosn was arrested on November 19 on allegations of financial misconduct, followed by re-arrests over additional allegations. He has already been indicted for under-reporting his earning, but local media has stated he has rejected the allegation.
Last week, the court approved extending his detention to January 11 after he was arrested again by prosecutors who allege him of aggravated breach of trust in shifting personal investment losses to Nissan.
