11 Dec 2017

Fiji Times sedition trial delayed until June

4:40 pm on 11 December 2017

The Fiji Times sedition trial is now set for June next year.

The case against the newspaper, its editor and publisher was due to start today but FBC News reported the accused requested time to engage new counsel.

The Fiji Times headquarters on Victoria Parade, Suva

The Fiji Times headquarters on Victoria Parade, Suva Photo: RNZI/Sally Round

The broadcaster reported their previous counsel Feizal Haniff withdrew from the case last week.

A new start date has been set for June 4 next year.

The charges relate to an article in the iTaukei language newspaper, Nai Lalakai.

The writer Josaia Waqabaca, the editor of Nai Lalakai, Anare Ravula, the Fiji Times editor-in-chief Fred Wesley, and its publisher Hank Arts are accused of making, or causing to be published, a seditious statement.