Carlos Ghosn Photo: AFP

An Istanbul court on Wednesday sentenced three Turks to four years and two months in prison for helping smuggle former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn in a musical instrument case to Lebanon from Japan.

The court convicted two pilots and an employee of a small private airline, who moved the tycoon while he was out on bail facing financial misconduct charges in December 2019.

The sentence was lighter than the maximum 12 years the pilots - Noyan Pasin and Bahri Kutlu Somek - and MNG Jet's Okan Kosemen faced after being charged in January with involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle a migrant.

The presiding judge convicted them of "illegally smuggling foreign national Carlos Ghosn... by using a cargo plane."

The court also ordered the three to each pay a 31,240 lira ($4,330) fine.

The pilots told the court on Wednesday that they were innocent because they never suspected the high-profile Japanese carmaker's boss was on board their plane.

"They ask us to fly the plane and that is what we do," Pasin said.

The three will stay out of prison pending an appeal. The court also acquitted two other pilots and two flight attendants standing trial in the Turkish case.

Interpol issued a notice in 2020 seeking Ghosn's extradition from Lebanon to Japan. The two countries have no extradition agreement and Lebanon has failed to comply.

Ghosn, who denies any wrongdoing, has remained effectively trapped in Lebanon due to the Interpol arrest warrant.

AFP