Lawyers for two men alleged of helping former Nissan Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while awaiting trial on financial charges have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and postpone their extradition.
Lawyers for U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, asked the court on an emergency basis to put on hold a lower court order that cleared the way for them to be extradited.
Taylor’s lawyers on Thursday filed reiterated arguments that their clients could not be prosecuted in Japan for helping someone “bail jump” and that, if extradited, they could be facing relentless interrogations and torture there.
A federal appeals court in Boston rejected earlier Thursday to issue an order preventing the Taylors’ extradition while they appealed lower-court rulings. The U.S. State Department authorized their extradition in October.
“The very least the U.S. courts owe the petitioners is a full chance to litigate these issues, including exercising their appellate rights, before they are consigned to the fate that awaits them at the hands of the Japanese government,” defense lawyers wrote.
The U.S. Justice Department had said the Taylors could be turned over to Japan as early as Friday. But U.S. officials now say the handoff will not happen while their request to the Supreme Court is pending, said defense lawyer Paul Kelly.
The Justice Department refused to discuss other than saying it was aware of the Supreme Court filing.
The Taylors were arrested in May at Japan’s request after they were charged with helping Ghosn flee Japan on December 29, 2019, hidden in a box and on a private jet before reaching his childhood home, Lebanon, which lacks an extradition treaty with Japan.
Ghosn was awaiting trial on charges that he engaged in financial misconduct by understating his compensation in Nissan’s financial statements. Ghosn rejects any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors said the elder Taylor, a 60-year-old private security specialist, and Peter Taylor, 27, got $1.3 million for their services.
