Family: Samisoni held for more than five hours

Samisoni and her famous bread shop chain

		This statement was sent to Coupfourpointfive by Dr Samisoni's family a short time ago

As my mother Dr Mere Samisoni was going about her business yesterday 3 August 2012, eight police officers and three police dogs stopped her alongside the road in Suva. She was told she was to be escorted to the police station. No reasons were given to her. Before doing so she spoke to her New Zealand legal counsel Peter Williams QC and Heeni Phillips.

Mr Williams QC spoke to the officer and asked why was Dr Samisoni being detained and escorted to the police station.  The officer replied he could not give a reason as there was no reason, but had been told to do this by his superiors. From approximately 1.30pm to aproximately 6.45pm last night my mother was detained by the police for questioning.

Police action on Qarase sentencing day predictable

Rusiate Tudrau: 'August busy month'

The owner of the Hotbread shop and the deposed member of Lami, Dr Mere Samisoni, has been released from custody after being held over an alleged dangerous driving incident.

Williams and Samisoni. file pic Fiji Village

Information from police sources yesterday showed the Fiji police were claiming the SDL member intercepted two FICAC vehicles heading to the Suva High Court for the sentencing of party leader, Laisenia Qarase.

A police report alleged Samisoni, who has been accused with three others of trying to overthrow the regime and is on bail, blocked the FICAC cars and yelled at them over the guilty conviction of Qarase. (see earlier story)

Samisoni in police custody again

Fiji business woman, Mere Samisoni, is under police interrogation after reportedly tackling FICAC officers today for their part in the trial and conviction of deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase.

The 74 year old grandmother is alleged to have been involved in an incident prior to the sentencing of the SDL leader today in the Suva High Court.

Police sources claim the deposed SDL member of Lamu was waiting outside the FICAC offices at 11.15am in her car for the lawyers to emerge for the trip to the High Court.

As soon as two FICAC vehicles, FX970 and FR119 drove out, it is alleged she followed them.

Police are claiming that as soon as they reached Holland Street, Samisoni overtook the  FICAC vehicles and stopped in front of them.
 

Fiji regime sends Qarase to jail for one year

Qarase yesterday allowed the enormity of what's happened to show in a moment with brother Satini Lakepa.

Family. pic Fiji Live

Fiji's last democratically elected prime minister has been sentenced to one year in jail by the military dictatorship that toppled him in 2006.

71 year old Laisenia Qarase was handed the sentence for the 9 corruption related charges at the Suva High Court a short time ago by the presiding judge, Justice Priyantha Fernando.

With Qarase standing in the dock, Justice Fernando maintained the facts of the case have been established and that as advisor of the Fijian Affairs Board, advisor of the Great Council of Chiefs and director of FHL applied for Class A FHL shares, Qarase facilitated the issuance and allotment of the shares to Cicia Plantation Co-op Society Limited, Q-Ten Investments Limited and Mavana Investments Limited. 

During the short sentencing, Justice Fernando told Qarase that he failed to disclose his interest in the three companies to FHL, FAB and GCC.

Security boosted at court

He said  Qarase held very high office in the public sector as he was a financial advisor in the government and the public vested their trust in him. 

Yang had hand in regime's campaign against Fatiaki

By VICTOR LAL

Yang with Michael Blanchflower and Qoriniasi Bale.

The gall of the Hong Kong based FICAC prosecutor Elizabeth Yang beggar belief. There she was, up before Judge Priyantha Fernando in the Suva High Court, calling on the Sri Lankan judge to lock up the former deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase for a maximum of three years on trumped up charges relating to discharge of duty with respect to property in which Qarase had a private interest.

Yang claimed that a tough prison sentence was warranted because Qarase displayed no remorse. Why should Qarase have displayed remorse for something he insists he never committed in the first instance? 

It seems the once proud Fijian judiciary has become a theatre for Hong Kong and Sri Lankan lawyers to treat it as their own fiefdoms, at the behest of a dictator who ousted Qarase at the power of the gun to escape murder charges, and an illegal Attorney-General who runs Fiji through a spate of decrees, drafted in the law offices of Hong Kong, and their services paid without any authorization by the oppressed taxpayers of Fiji.

FICAC out for blood

Qarase and Draunidalo

The question has been asked: would the regime really send an old man to jail? 

Judging from the push yesterday by prosecutors for jail time, the regime has no qualms about sending the country's last democratically elected prime minister, 71 year old Laisenia Qarase, to prison.

At the mitigation hearing in the Suva Hgh Court, the FICAC lawyer, Elizabeth Yang, continued to insist the 'offences were planned' and that Qarase had showed no remorse for the 'crimes.'

Yang with Michael Blanchflower

She said this was 'evident when an application for stay on proceedings was made when the trial had started.'

Yang (Coupfourpointfive has a followup story coming on Yang) told Justice Priyantha Fernando, FICAC would consider concurrent sentences for the six abuse of office charges but would not compromise on the other three that Qarase was convicted on.

No let up fom the regime

Plain clothese policemen at work: all pictures from Republika https://www.facebook.com/republikamag

Spying on fellow citizens.

In a week where Australia and New Zealand have chosen to 'reward' the regime for what they say is 'progress', Fiji citizens continue to experience the realities of life under a military dictatorship.

The leader of the country's biggest political party was yesterday convicted on corruption related allegations, despite it being widely known that Fiji no longer has a rule of law and that the judiciary is widely compromised.

Qarase after the verdict

But even as Laisenia Qarase, Fiji's last elected prime minister, was deemed guilty by Suva High Court assessors and the presiding judge, Justice Priyantha Fernando, citizens continued to be under the eye of Fiji police.

Several plain clothes policemen were posted at the top of the Goverment building, taking photographs of everyone who was in the vicinity, from supporters to media.

All unnecessary but seemingly acceptable to Australia and New Zealand, whose foreign ministers said a few days ago they would allow the return of high commissioners and the relaxing of some sanctions 'as a token of the progress made'.

High Court judge finds Qarase guilty

The Suva High Court has found Laisenia Qarase guilty of all nine charges against him.

In a judgement a short time ago, Judge Justice Priyantha Fernando said he agrees with the regime assessors decision yesterday that Qarase is guilty of six counts of abuse of office and three counts of the charge of discharging his duty with respect to property in which he has a private interest.


The charges relate to breaches while he was a director of Fijian Holdings Limited. 

Qarase has been granted bail and has been ordered to report to the police station everyday until his sentencing.

The nine charges were brought by Fiji's Independent Commission Against
Corruption, and go back to the early 1990s.

Australia 'rewards' Fiji regime for supposed 'progress'

Carr: Token gesture.

A day after saying it was too early to relax sanctions, Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr has agreed to do just that in exchange for what is being described as 'rewards' for Fiji's military dictatorship.

Carr had yesterday said it was too early to ease the restrictions placed on Fiji after the 2006 coup and the failure of the Frank Bainimarama regime to hold elections as promised in 2009.

He had told Radio Australia: "We will make a decision on lifting sanctions when it is clear the commitment to democracy is irreversible, and the consultation we have on Monday is part of that continuing engagement to see that the country is headed back towards democratic norms." 

He suggested the likely outcome of the meeting would be an agreement for the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group to make a second visit to Suva.

After a meeting in Sydney with New Zealand's Murray McCully and the regime's Inoke Kubuabola, Carr revealed the regime was being rewarded for the apparent progress it has made with the constitutional review and the 2014 elections.

Regime assessors find Qarase guilty

Qarase: pic Fiji Village

Fiji's deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase has been found guilty by three assessors on all 9 charges relating to breaches while he was a director of Fijian Holdings Limited.

Fiji Village says the assessors took about two hours to return a verdict, finding Qarase guilty of six counts of abuse of office and three counts of the charge of discharging his duty with respect to property in which he has a private interest.

High Court Judge Justice Priyantha Fernando is expected to deliver his judgement tomorrow afternoon.

Fiji Village says Qarase shook hands with his legal counsel after the verdict and drove away from the court house in a vehicle that had been waiting for him.

Australia sticking to sanctions as NZ allows Kubuabola to leg it to Auckland

All eyes on Australia tomorrow as it meets with New Zealand over Fiji and whether or not the regime should be allowed back into the Pacific Islands Forum.

FOREIGN MINISTERS: McCully and Kubuabola.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully this week eased visa restrictions to allow the regime's Inoke Kubuabola into Auckland to open a shop in suburban Mt Roskill on his way to the Sydney meeting.

MCG meeting in May.

The supermarket is owned by Harish Lodhia, the brother of businessman, Hammat Lodhia. Harish Lodhia has been named as the regime's first honorary consul to Auckland. 

Both New Zealand and Australia imposed sanctions on the regime when it failed to hold elections as it said it would in 2009.

Kubuabola has now managed to get his leg over McCully but Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, appears to still want to do the honourable thing.