Fiji 2002
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
News on Fiji in 2002
- NOVEMBER 15, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International has called on authorities in...
Amnesty International has called on authorities in Fiji to prosecute those who suppressed the military mutiny in November 2000, as well as those who staged it
- NOVEMBER 14, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
A Fiji military court sentenced the leader of a failed...
A Fiji military court sentenced the leader of a failed mutiny to death but court officials said the sentence was automatically commuted to life in prison
- OCTOBER 2, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fiji's attorney-general, Qoriniasi Bale, said he could...
Fiji's attorney-general, Qoriniasi Bale, said he could not see anything preventing the President from commuting the death penalty if 15 soldiers facing a court martial for mutiny were found guilty, adding that he was holding discussions with the minister
- JUNE 15, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Home Affairs Minister Joketani Cokanasiga said at Queen...
Home Affairs Minister Joketani Cokanasiga said at Queen Victoria School that government will remove the death penalty from the Military Act, before reviewing the cadet passing out parade
- JUNE 1, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Two key figures in Fiji's 2000 coup were to be charged...
Two key figures in Fiji's 2000 coup were to be charged with treason and could be sentenced to death following High Court rulings
- MARCH 9, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale says confusion may...
Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale says confusion may have arisen about the death penalty provision under the Military Act
- MARCH 6, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
A bill to amend the military act will soon be introduced...
A bill to amend the military act will soon be introduced in parliament after the abolishment of the death penalty was enacted by the Upper House
- FEBRUARY 27, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Members of the disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare...
Members of the disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare [CRW] unit charged with mutiny and appearing before a military court martial will face the death penalty if found guilty, the Fiji Military Forces legal counsel Lt-Col Mohammed Aziz confirmed
- FEBRUARY 25, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The Fiji House of Representatives passed an amendment...
The Fiji House of Representatives passed an amendment removing the death penalty from the Penal Code
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The Australian lawyers representing Fijian coup leader...
The Australian lawyers representing Fijian coup leader George Speight and his band of men spent a "terrible, sleepless night" after agreeing to a plea bargain in which Speight would plead guilty to the capital offence of treason so his men would receive l
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The Fiji government walked out of parliament following...
The Fiji government walked out of parliament following allegations made by Labour Party parliamentarian Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi that Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was also behind the May 2000 coup
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Sparing rebel George Speight's life was the only sane...
Sparing rebel George Speight's life was the only sane option - but much work remains for Fiji to repair the damage he left behind
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The family of jailed coup leader George Speight will...
The family of jailed coup leader George Speight will appeal his life sentence
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Tribal chiefs and supporters of George Speight plan...
Tribal chiefs and supporters of George Speight plan to petition president Ratu Josefa Iloilo for an absolute pardon for the coup leader
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
A bill to strike out the death penalty is expected...
A bill to strike out the death penalty is expected to be presented to Parliament today
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fears of a revolt led to a decision to commute George...
Fears of a revolt led to a decision to commute George Speight's sentence to life
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Three key rebels who helped coup leader George Speight...
Three key rebels who helped coup leader George Speight to overthrow Fiji's first ethnic-government in 2000 were jailed for three years each
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fiji coup leader George Speight escaped the death penalty...
Fiji coup leader George Speight escaped the death penalty when the South Pacific island nation's president commuted a death sentence for treason to life imprisonment
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Samisoni Tikoinasau, the brother of coup leader George...
Samisoni Tikoinasau, the brother of coup leader George Speight, said his brother had been hoodwinked by the military after they promised him and his supporters immunity through the Muanikau Accord which they did not honour
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Deposed the government of Mahendra Chaudhry said he...
Deposed the government of Mahendra Chaudhry said he was surprised by Speight's guilty plea, and the speed with which his sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand opposed a death sentence handed down to...
New Zealand opposed a death sentence handed down to Fiji coup leader George Speight, but said he should be jailed for life for overthrowing the South Pacific government in May 2000
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The managing director of Auckland's Radio Tarana, Robert...
The managing director of Auckland's Radio Tarana, Robert Khan, said the station was flooded with calls from Fiji Indians who were happy at the death sentence but were worried that it would be commuted
- FEBRUARY 15, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The future of Fiji's indigenous government was in doubt...
The future of Fiji's indigenous government was in doubt after a court ruled it must include the ethnic Indian-dominated Labour party of Mahendra Chaudhry, who was ousted in a racially inspired 2000 coup
- FEBRUARY 14, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Attorney General Qoriniasi Bale admitted that the removal...
Attorney General Qoriniasi Bale admitted that the removal of the death penalty is intended to cover the impending trial of George Speight and others now on remand on Nukulau Island on charges of treason
- FEBRUARY 14, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fiji is considering abolishing the death penalty for...
Fiji is considering abolishing the death penalty for treason, on the eve of the treason trial of George Speight, who led a coup in 2000
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fiji's Conservative Alliance party says it did not...
Fiji's Conservative Alliance party says it did not put pressure on the government to remove the death penalty ahead of George Speight's forthcoming treason trial
- FEBRUARY 12, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
The Fijian Cabinet agreed to amend the penal code to...
The Fijian Cabinet agreed to amend the penal code to remove the death penalty for treason charges [capital punishment was scrapped for most crimes in 1967, but was retained for treason and piracy]
- FEBRUARY 8, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
West Australian barrister Ron Cannon will defend Fijian...
West Australian barrister Ron Cannon will defend Fijian coup plotter George Speight against charges of treason
- JANUARY 30, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fiji is looking for a foreign judge to preside over...
Fiji is looking for a foreign judge to preside over the treason trial of coup leader George Speight just three weeks before the trial commences, Chief Justice Timoci Tuivaga said
- JANUARY 1, 2002FijiDEATH PENALTY
Fiji abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes...
Fiji abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 1979; the last execution was carried out in 1964