January 2 - 8, 2020www.thephilippinetribune.com6 PHILIPPINE TRIBUNE

Ghosn in Lebanon, says he left Japan because of ‘injustice’

TOKYO — Nissan’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday he was in Lebanon and was not fleeing justice, but instead sought to avoid “injustice and political per-secution” in a criminal trial in Japan for alleged financial misconduct. Ghosn was out on bail in Japan before his departure. He disclosed his location in a statement through his rep-resentatives Tuesday that did not describe how he left the country. Conditions of his re-lease on bail banned him from traveling overseas. He prom-ised to talk to reporters next week. “I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied, in flagrant disregard of Japan’s legal ob-ligations under international law and treaties it is bound to uphold,” the statement said. Japanese media quoted prosecutors speaking anony-mously who said they did not know how Ghosn had left the country while under surveil-lance. Ghosn, who is of Lebanese origin and holds French and Lebanese passports, was ar-rested in Japan in November 2018 and is facing various financial misconduct allega-tions, He was expected to face trial in April 2020. Prosecutors fought his release, but a court granted him bail with conditions that he be monitored and he could not meet with his wife Car-ole, who is also of Lebanese origin. Recently the court al-

lowed them to speak by video calls. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Leba-non. It is unclear what steps the authorities might take. Ghosn has repeatedly asserted his innocence, say-ing authorities trumped-up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance part-ner Renault SA. He has been charged with under-reporting his future compensation and of breach of trust. During his release on bail, Ghosn had been going daily to the office of his main lawyer Junichiro Hironaka to work on his case. Hironaka has not commented on Ghosn’s de-parture from the country.

Earlier, Ricardo Karam, a television host and friend of Ghosn who interviewed him several times, told The Associated Press that Ghosn arrived in Lebanon Mon-day morning..”He is home,” Karam told the AP in a mes-sage. “It’s a big adventure.”Karam declined to elaborate.

The Lebanese took spe-cial pride in the auto industry icon, who speaks fluent Ara-bic and visited regularly. Born in Brazil, where his Lebanese grandfather had sought his fortune, Ghosn grew up in Beirut, where he spent part of his childhood at a Jesuit school. Ghosn was credited with leading a spectacular turn-around at Nissan beginning in the late 1990s.

Agence France-Presse HOUSTON, United States — US President Donald Trump on Monday said gun laws in the state of Texas saved lives when a church security officer shot dead a gunman who killed two during a service. The Sunday shooting at a church service in the Fort Worth Suburb of White Settlement was the latest attack on a house of worship in the US. “It was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners who acted to protect 242 fellow worshippers. Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!” Trump tweeted. Jack Wilson, a volunteer church security member, told reporters he returned fire inside West Freeway Church of Christ after the gunman had already shot the two parishioners. “After he shot Richard and Tony, he went and started to-ward the front of the sanctu-ary and that’s when I was able to engage him, and I fired one round,” Wilson said.

Texas gun laws saved lives in church attack

— Trump

Police had said “a couple” of church members returned fire. In a country where critics say guns are too readily available, the laws in Texas are among the most permissible. The United States has lived through a sharp rise in mass shootings in recent years, alarm-ing the public and triggering new debate on how to control this epidemic of violence. Democrats demanded at the fall session of Congress that Trump and his Republicans take action to restrict guns. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would only bring a gun bill to the floor if it had presidential backing, but Trump has given no clear preference. The Dallas Morning News reported that the church attack-er, Keith Thomas Kinnunen, 43, had a history of assault and other charges. It said his ex-wife, who filed a protective order against him in 2012, called him a “religious fanatic” who claimed to be “bat-tling a demon.”

By: Christia Marie RamosMANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli on Monday reiterated its call to Filipinos in the Libyan capital near where clashes has been taking place to evacuate after 17 Filipinos recently fled their neighborhood when their resi-dential building was taken over by armed men. Chargè d’Affaires Elmer Cato said that the 17 Filipinos, five of whom are minors, are

17 Filipinos in strife-torn Libya flee neighborhood after homes taken over by armed men

now staying with relatives and friends in other parts of Tripoli. In its latest advisory, the embassy also appealed to the remaining Filipinos in the area to relocate as soon as possible to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Cato further said the embas-sy, likewise, advised some 400 Filipinos residing or working in other areas near the fighting to be ready to evacuate in case clashes spill over to their loca-tions. The embassy, Cato noted, is “also closely monitoring the situation of more than 50 nurses and other medical workers in

two hospitals south of Tripoli and their dependents.” The embassy, meanwhile, said it has not received any re-ports of Filipino casualties in the clashes and airstrikes that have targeted not only Tripoli but also the cities of Misrata, Zawi-yah, Zliten, and Missalata. Cato said Filipinos who may be dislocated by the fighting and have no place to go can seek shelter at the embassy or opt to avail of the government’s offer of repatriation. A total of 149 Filipinos have so far been repatriated since the current conflict in Tripoli erupt-ed almost nine months ago.