8 men jailed for up to 7 years for plot to assassinate Fiji’s prime minister

8 jailed for plot to kill Fiji’s prime minister

SUVA, Fiji — Eight Fijian men were sentenced Friday to jail terms of three to seven years for their roles in a 2007 plot to assassinate the South Pacific island nation’s prime minister.

The men conspired to kill armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006.

“In late 2007 the state of Fiji was in a very fragile state, and had this plot succeeded, the consequences are unthinkable,” said Justice Paul Madigan of Fiji’s High Court.

“There has been no evidence before this court of any thought given to the fate of the average Fijian should the country be suddenly rid of its president, prime minister and army. The plans of the accused were totally self-serving, thoughtless and greedy.”

When the defendants were arrested in late 2007, then-New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the plot allegations appeared to be a pretext to round up opponents of Fiji’s military government.

The men were convicted Wednesday and had faced up to 14 years in prison.

The longest sentence of seven years went to Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, a former senator and indigenous Fijian tribal leader, and Sivaniolo Naulago, a former manager of information technology company Pacific Connext.

Former Fiji Intelligence Service director Metuisela Mua was sentenced to three-and-a-half years.

The five other conspirators were all members of the now-disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit. They received sentences ranging from three to six-and-a-half years.

The men — and eight others who were acquitted earlier in the trial — were initially charged with conspiracy to assassinate Bainimarama, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, then-Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and two other senior military officers. The charges relating to all but Bainimarama were later dropped.

The military’s chief staff intelligence officer, Maj. Isireli Narawa, testified that the military first heard rumors of an assassination plot in February or March 2007.

Narawa said he had posed as a disgruntled senior army officer, willing to support the removal of Bainimarama. Narawa said he met Takiveikata in a hotel room in late October 2007, where he offered support and assurances that “he could arrange for the entry of the assassination team into the army barracks on the execution day to carry out the plan.”

He said he informed Bainimarama and the police commissioner the following day. The defendants were arrested a short time later.