Fiji's opposition Labour Party has hailed the verdict in the Fiji Times sedition trial as a victory for media freedom.
The Fiji Times headquarters on Victoria Parade, Suva Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
On Tuesday, the High Court found the newspaper, its publisher, two editors and a letter writer not guilty of sedition.
Charges were brought after the government complained that a letter the newspaper published in 2016 could incite hostility towards Fiji's minority Muslim population.
The Labour party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said from the judge's remarks it was clear the charges were frivolous and vexatious.
Mr Chaudhry said he wanted to know why the case was brought by prosecutors and alleged their chief witness, the Permanent Secretary for i-Taukei Affairs, was under pressure from his "bosses".
Meanwhile, the NGO Coalition on Human Rights said sedition was an archaic notion that should be abolished as a criminal offence as it curtailed free speech.
The leader of Fiji's Labour Party, Mahendra Chaudhry Photo: AFP
