Japan tortured me and America did nothing, he says
Former US Green Beret, who became famous for planning and executing one of the most daring escape plots in recent history, has accused Japanese authorities of torture — and his own government of failing to do anything to help.
In a special interview with Arab News Japan recorded in Dubai, Michael Taylor, who helped ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn flee Japan hidden inside a musical equipment case in December 2019, said he suffered inhumane treatment while incarcerated in Tokyo.
He said he experienced frostbite, heatstroke, and was denied bathing facilities for several months during his time in solitary confinement at the Tokyo Detention House, having been extradited from the US to stand trial for his role in Ghosn’s escape.
“Seventeen months in solitary confinement. Two showers in a six-and-a-half month period of time. There’s no heat. You get frostbite daily, no air conditioning or ventilation during the summer. People are passing out from heatstroke,” he said.
“So yeah, I would say, and according to the UN, that’s clearly torture in violation of human rights,” he added, claiming that his case was “rigged” and a “political decision.”
Aside from the prison conditions he was subjected to, Taylor said there was no “attorney-client privilege.” In order to speak to his attorneys, he had to write his briefings with prosecutors on a piece of paper labeled as privileged communication.
“However, privileged communication is a farce, because I had to give those papers to the guards who copy them and do whatever they want,” he said.
“Thirty minutes later, the papers get to my lawyers who are sitting on the opposite side of the glass. You’re monitored by a guard and an interpreter there who’s writing everything down. So, you don’t have attorney-client privilege as well.”
