Three Turkish nationals were sentenced by an Istanbul court on Wednesday, February 24, to prison for helping former Renault-Nissan alliance boss Carlos Ghosn in his incredible flight from Japan to Lebanon in December 2019.
The legal proceedings have shed light on the spectacular conditions of the escape of the deposed tycoon, aged 66, who, sued in Japan for financial embezzlement, left the country hiding in a trunk for a musical instrument.
After making a flight between Osaka and Istanbul aboard a plane from the Turkish private jet charter company MNG Jet, Carlos Ghosn went to Beirut on a second aircraft from the same group.
On Wednesday, a senior official of the MNG Jet company, Okan Kösemen, and two pilots were sentenced to four years and two months in prison for "smuggling of migrants".
They were also ordered to pay a fine of more than 30,000 Turkish liras (approximately 3,500 euros).
The three men, who risked up to 12 years in prison, will remain free for the duration of the appeal proceedings.
The court also acquitted two other pilots and two flight attendants who were on trial alongside them.
"We are scapegoats"
The two convicted pilots, Noyan Pasin and Bahri Kutlu Somek, are those who were at the controls of the plane which made the connection between Osaka and Istanbul.
At trial, they dismissed the charges, arguing that they were unaware of Carlos Ghosn's presence on board the aircraft.
"In what world do we ask pilots to check what is in the luggage? (...) We were asked to pilot and that's what we did", thus defended himself Noyan Pasin Wednesday.
"We are scapegoats. Nobody asks how this baggage (in which Carlos Ghosn was hidden) was able to pass police and customs checks in Japan," he added.
"I did not expect this conviction. There is no concrete evidence. I am surprised," Noyan Pasin said after the hearing.
A commando operation
According to the Turkish prosecutor in charge of the prosecution in this trial, the exfiltration of Carlos Ghosn was prepared with a thoroughness worthy of a military operation.
According to investigators, he notably made the trip between Osaka and Istanbul concealed in a bulky musical instrument box in which 70 holes had been drilled to allow him to breathe.
Two alleged accomplices of Carlos Ghosn, Michael Taylor, former member of the American special forces, and George-Antoine Zayek, a Lebanese national, "recruited" Okan Kösemen, part of the MNG Jet company, to ensure the smooth transit to Istanbul .
The Turkish authorities accuse in particular Okan Kösemen of having received several transfers for a total amount exceeding 250,000 euros in the months preceding the flight of Carlos Ghosn.
According to the indictment, the private jet landed at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul.
Soon after, Carlos Ghosn boarded a second aircraft which took off for Beirut, where the former auto industry heavyweight still resides.
Carlos Ghosn, holder of three nationalities (French, Lebanese and Brazilian) and who is the subject of a request for arrest by Interpol, remains out of reach of Japanese judges, because Lebanon does not extradite its nationals.
Lebanese justice, however, forbade him to leave the country.
In addition to the main trial in Japan, he is also involved in several judicial inquiries in France, relating in particular to suspicions of misuse of corporate assets at Renault and the Dutch subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, RNBV.
With AFP
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