Status Of Sedition Charged Duo to Be Confirmed In January

Two men, facing charges of sedition, did not show up for their court date at the High Court in Lautoka yesterday.

Judge Justice Sunil Sharma told defence lawyer Aman Ravindra Singh and state lawyer Swastika Sharma that they would have to provide a confirmation as to why the accused persons were not present at the High Court.

A mention date within the first week of January 2022 was made for this.

The court heard that Mr Singh was representing 26 accused persons charged with one count of sedition, which included Vetaia Dale and Tomasi Madigibuli. In the sedition charge, the group were accused of conducting military-style training in Tavua in 2015.

Dale was remanded at the Korovou Corrections Centre for another matter while Madigibuli could not be reached by Mr Singh. Mr Singh told the court that on the last occasion, assistance was sought for the investigating officer to aid the production of Madigibuli in court yesterday as he and Dale were also not present on the last mention date.

Mr Singh told the court the defence would be requesting that the 26 accused persons appear before a new judge and a trial date possibly set as the case was a matter from 2015.

Justice Sharma said unfortunately it appeared that the production order for Dale had not been affected and he requested that the state assist the court through the investigating officer to serve a notice of adjournment for Madigibuli.

The matter has been adjourned to January 7, 2022 for mention and a production order was made for Dale.