A former Solomon Islands militant leader, who later became a Cabinet Minister, has been acquitted on arson charges.
Alex Bartlett, who was general secretary of the Malaita Eagle Force and later Foreign and Tourism Minister, has been acquitted of ordering the burning of 20 houses on his land in July 2000 at the height of the ethnic tension.
Judge Justice Naqiolevu of the High Court says there was no evidence advanced to conclusively prove that the burning of the land by the accused was for purposes other than to prepare it for development.
He says the Crown has not satisfied the test that the arson was unlawful within the provisions of the law.
