Carlos Ghosn held a lengthy press conference in Beirut today, speaking publicly for the first time since his escape from Japan and he had a lot of things to say.
“I am here to clear my name,” he said. “These allegations are untrue and I should never have been arrested in the first place.”
The former chairman of Nissan said that he had been treated “brutally” by Tokyo prosecutors, accusing them of conspiring with the Japanese car maker to remove him from his position.
Related: Nissan To Take Legal Action Against Ghosn, Japan Issues Arrest Warrant For His Wife
Ghosn repeatedly denied all charges from the Japanese prosecutors, slamming the country’s judicial system which according to him “violates the most basic principles of humanity”. He then talked about his time in solitary confinement, his inability to see his family and the lengthy interrogation sessions of up to eight hours without the presence of a lawyer, where the intent was to extract incriminating information and not determining the truth according to him.
“I felt I was a hostage of a country that I have served for 17 years,” said Ghosn who then added that his lawyers told him that he could be held in Japan for an additional five years before the court reaches a judgement.
“I am innocent of all the charges. All of them. And I can prove it now,” said Ghosn, who plans on releasing documents, some of which were shown during the conference, to prove his innocence. He repeated then that he wants justice. “If I can’t get it in Japan, I’ll get it somewhere else,” Ghosn added.
More: Carlos Ghosn Is Living In A Pink Mansion Paid By Nissan Which Cannot Evict Him
Ghosn said that Nissan executives felt threatened by Renault, fearing that the French car maker would decide on a full merge. “Unfortunately there was no trust, and some of our Japanese friends thought that the only way to get rid of the influence of Renault on Nissan was to get rid of me,” Ghosn said.
The former chairman of both Renault and Nissan added that while he wanted greater integration between the two car makers, he wasn’t calling for a merger as he desired for the two companies to be run separately.
Following the press conference, Tokyo prosecutors issued a statement saying: “Defendant Ghosn fled from Japan by acting in a way that would constitute a crime in itself. His statements during his press conference today failed to justify his acts.”
“Defendant Ghosn has only himself to blame for being arrested and detained for approximately 130 days for the need to impose conditions on his release on bail that kept him from contacting his wife.”
“Our office is determined to coordinate with relevant authorities and to take whatever measures we have in our power to bring defendant Ghosn to justice in Japan”, the Tokyo Destrict Public Prosecutors Office said.