Military regime questions lawyer critic Richard Naidu
Title -- 5105 FIJI: Military regime questions lawyer critic Richard Naidu
Date -- 24 January 2007
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Fijilive 24/1/07
Copyright - Fijilive
Status -- Unabridged
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SOLDIERS QUESTION SUVA LAWYER
http://www.fijilive.com/news/show/news/2007/01/24/fijilive05.html
Army seeks police case against lawyer
http://www.fijilive.com/news/show/news/2007/01/24/24fijilive01.html
Military 'clears air' on Naidu
http://www.fijilive.com/news/show/news/2007/01/24/fijilive10.html
SUVA (Fijilive/Pacific Media Watch) - Prominent Suva lawyer Richard Naidu was taken by surprise last night when Fiji soldiers surrounded his home and took him to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks.
Military Land Force Commander Colonel Pita Driti confirmed that soldiers arrived at Naidu’s home a little after 9pm and asked to take him.
"We just brought him in for questioning.
"He was cautioned and then released," Col. Driti said.
Col. Driti did not say what Naidu was questioned on.
Sources say that fully armed soldiers entered Naidu’s compound and surrounded the house. He was later taken to the QEB in a blindfold and allegedly beaten up.
Soldiers then dropped him off at Wailoku, where he was told to find his way home from there.
It is believed that Naidu was taken in by the military for speaking out against the interim Government.
Naidu had earlier told Radio New Zealand International that President Josefa Iloilo is the military's President not the constitution's President.
[See Pacific Media Watch despatch 5104 quoting the RNZI report on Jan 22.]
He also said the regime could only be viewed as illegal.
"Let's face it, he's the military President now," Naidu said.
"We can pretend that just because he was the President before the coup and is the President after the coup, that we have some sort of constitutional government.
"But the fact is the President eventually simply submitted to the military.
"He's the military's President, he's not the Constitution's president."
Col. Driti said businesswoman Laisa Digitaki was supposed to have been brought in with Naidu but could not confirm whether she was at the camp last night.
Efforts to get a comment from Naidu and Digitaki this morning proved futile.
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