Four members of French Polynesia's self-styled Pakumotu republic are to appear before a judge tomorrow after their arrest on Thursday for an alleged armed rebellion.
The four, including their self-styled king, Athanase Teiri, are being held for attempted murder of a policeman, armed rebellion, forming of a militia and illegal possession of a weapon.
Such crimes can be punished with life imprisonment.
Two of those detained were armed and fired at police who tried to arrest Athanase Teiri after he had been sentenced to prison last week for making threats to senior officials.
The group has been defying the French state for years and has its own government, which last year said it would replace the Pacific franc with his Pakumotu currency, the patu.
Reports from Tahiti say in the past week, Athanase Teiri continued to defy the authorities and it's alleged a document was found in his compound which purported to sentence the French public prosecutor to death.
Last month, a woman belonging to his group was given a two-month jail sentence for trying to pay for petrol with a 100 patu note.
