U.S. District Court of Massachusetts has ruled that Mike Taylor and his son Peter can be extradited to Japan for their alleged role in smuggling ex-Nissan head Carlos Ghosn out of the country while he was facing pending criminal charges.
Attorneys for the Taylors have advanced a number of legal arguments since their arrest in May. One of their main points of contention will be that the Taylors will have their human rights violated by the notoriously inhumane Japanese prison system. Amnesty International and other watchdog groups have reported how inmates are deprived of sleep and kept in freezing jail cells in order to coerce confessions.
Judge Indira Talwani acknowledged that "the prison conditions in Japan may be deplorable and although the criminal procedures that the Taylors may be subjected to may not satisfy American notions of due process," however she felt that the threshold to meet severe physical or mental pain and suffering required by regulations had not been met.
Taylor's attorney is filing a last-ditch appeal, a source told Connecting Vets, but they could be extradited and flown to Japan as soon as next week.
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