Frank Bainimarama guilty of threatening demand, Qiliho cleared

Fiji's former Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has been found guilty of making a threatening demand, while former Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho has been cleared of two charges related to abuse of power.

The decision was announced by High Court Judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe in Suva on Thursday after a trial that attracted a lot of public attention.

Bainimarama, the country's longest-serving Prime Minister, was convicted for offences committed between 21 May and 18 August 2021, when he pressured the Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, to fire two police officers - Sergeant Penieli Ratei and Constable Tomasi Naulu.

The court ruled that Bainimarama threatened Tudravu with resignation if he didn't comply, which the law considers a serious offence.

In May last year, Bainimarama was jailed for a year for obstructing a police investigation into corruption. But he was released from prison last November, just six months into his sentence.

Meanwhile, Qiliho was found not guilty of two charges of abuse of office. He was accused of changing a disciplinary decision made by Tudravu, but the court decided there wasn't enough evidence to prove he had done anything wrong.

The prosecution team, which included Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Laisani Tabuakuro and Senior State Lawyer Pooja Mishra, argued the case against the former Prime Minister.

Bainimarama's defence was handled by Devanesh Sharma and Gul Fatima from R Patel Lawyers.

Sentencing for Bainimarama will be scheduled at a later date.