Three charged with treason in Fiji

Three charged with treason in Fiji

By MICHAEL FIELD.

Three people have been charged with treason in Fiji over an alleged plot to assassinate Fiji strongman Voreqe Bainimarama.

The three, whose names have been withheld, will also be charged with inciting mutiny and five counts each of conspiracy to murder.

The news has been announced by Police Commissioner Elesa Teleni just a short time after a Suva lawyer visited detained New Zealander Ballu Khan.

Tevita Fa saw Khan at Suva's public hospital where he was taken after being assaulted during arrest on Saturday.

"He is a sick man," Mr told Fairfax Media.

"There are visible signs of injuries on his face. He complained to me that he has got internal pain."

He said Khan spoke well but they did not discuss the injuries.

"The army and the police were listening attentively."

Fa said he told his client, who has not been arrested or charged yet, that he did not have to give any statements or interviews to the police unless his lawyer was present.

Teleni told reporters earlier today that Khan sustained his injuries while resisting arrest on Saturday.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said Khan, suffered injuries so severe he was having trouble speaking but Teleni has denied this.

"Let me assure you that Ballu Khan sustained only minor injuries and has been treated at (the Colonial War Memorial Hospital).

"These injuries were the result of both Mr Khan and his bodyguard resisting arrest and assaulting police officers."

Police say he was one of 16 men in custody who planned to kill Bainimarama, who staged a coup last December.

Police Commissioner Esala Teleni claimed at lunchtime there were armed groups travelling in Fiji, involved in the plot.

In a statement Bainimarama says there were "disgruntled groups" who had the potential to go to the extreme, but also says his country is safe for tourists and his police will do everything to safeguard them.

Tourism is Fiji's major foreign exchange earner and Bainimarama said visiting tourists could be assured authorities would do everything to safeguard them.

contd: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4262381a10.html