George Speight arrives to face three charges of treason.
George Speight arrives to face three charges of treason.
Speight's military adviser Ilisoni Ligairi appeared with a bandaged head
Mr Speight says soldiers beat him Fiji rebel leader George Speight has been
charged on
three counts of treason.
The charges arise out of the seizure for eight weeks of the Prime Minister
Mahendra Chaudhry and members of
his multi-racial government by Mr Speight and his rebel group.
Mr Speight's security adviser Ilisoni Ligaira, media adviser Joe Nata,
political adviser Tomoci Silatolu and Speight's younger brother, Jim Speight,
were among 12 others also charged with treason.
The charge carries the death penalty, but it has not been carried out since
Fiji's independence from Britain in 1970.
Charges of treason, conspiracy to commit treason and being an
accessory after the fact to treason were read in Suva
Magistrates Court after Mr Speight arrived amid high
security from the prison island of Nukulau.
It was alleged Mr Speight "intended to levy war against
His Excellency the President of Fiji Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara".
The accusation also said he "put constraint on the
legislature and overtook the legislature by gathering
arms and using armed force to overthrow the legitimate
government".
Ratu Mara stepped aside when martial law was declared
on 29 May.
The charges were referred for a hearing in Fiji's High
Court in two weeks, after which a trial date will be set.
No pleas were taken and Mr Speight and his aides were
remanded in custody.
Mr Speight and his co-defendants have already been
charged with firearms and public order offences. Mr
Speight has denied the charges.
The seizure of Mr Chaudhry on 19 May ended with an
agreement to give Mr Speight an amnesty for his
actions, but prosecutors have argued the deal is invalid
because it was signed under duress by the army
commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
They have also said the rebels failed to return all
the weapons used in the uprising - another condition
of the amnesty deal.
Mr Speight arrived at court with an adhesive bandage
on the back of his head.
He has claimed assault by soldiers on Nukulau, and
gave affidavits and medical reports to Chief Magistrate
Salesi Temow.
Judge Temow told the court: "On paper the
reports appear to confirm what the accused... allege."
The editor of the Fijilive website, Yashwant Gaunder,
told the BBC that many Fijian citizens were pleased that
Mr Speight remained in custody, because there were still
fears of further unrest.
He said that the charge of treason may have been
levelled against the rebels to prevent them
destabilising society for "as long as possible".
He said there was little likelihood of the Chaudhry
government returning to power, though the interim
government had gone some way towards reassuring the
Fiji's Indian community and stemming an exodus from
the country.
Mr Speight and his supporters staged the May coup to
demand power for indigenous Fijians.
The rebels demanded Fiji's large ethnic Indian
population - 44% of the total - be stripped of political
power.
About 150 more of Mr Speight's supporters have been
charged with unlawful assembly, which carries a
maximum penalty of one year's jail.
This site is best viewed using Netscape 4.0 or higher.
Any problems or kind suggestions, please email: webmaster@lookinglassdesign.com
last revision 08/15/2000