Three people charged over Ghosn's escape found not guilty in Turkey retrial

Jun 01 (NHK) - A lawyer for three people who were charged with helping former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan has told NHK they were acquitted by a Turkish court in a retrial.

Ghosn reportedly fled from Japan to Lebanon via Turkey on a private jet in 2019. He was out on bail in Tokyo at the time while awaiting trial for alleged financial misconduct.

A Turkish court in 2021 sentenced the three people -- an executive at an Istanbul-based jet firm and the two pilots who flew Ghosn to Turkey -- to 50 months in prison for migrant smuggling.

The three appealed the ruling, saying they were unaware Ghosn would be on board.

The lawyer told NHK that an appeals court ordered the retrial and sent the case back to the lower court, which acquitted the three in late April.

Three others, including two pilots who flew Ghosn from Turkey to Lebanon, were also indicted over his escape, but were found not guilty in February 2021.

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