15 Mar 2008

Wife of deported Fiji Sun publisher leaves Fiji

10:58 am on 15 March 2008

The wife of deported Fiji Sun publisher Russell Hunter, Martha Hunter, has left Fiji for Australia.

Mr Hunter was taken from his home in Suva last month and deported the next day.

Mrs Hunter and her daughter were given 21 days by the Immigration department to leave the country.

Fiji Live online says they were seen yesterday morning at the Nadi International Airport bound for Australia.

Meanwhile, Russell Hunter told Fiji live that he was still awaiting an official explanation from the department on why he was deported.

An official statement issued by the Immigration department soon after the deportation that Mr Hunter was a prohibited immigrant who had breached conditions of his work visa here in Fiji.

However, it is believed that Mr Hunter was deported because of a series of articles the newspaper had published on allegations of tax evasion levelled against interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.