Wellington - The publisher of a Fiji newspaper was deported from the country despite a High Court order forbidding his expulsion, according to reports Wednesday in the capital Suva. Russell Hunter, an Australian who is publisher of the daily Fiji Sun, was taken from his home Monday evening in Suva and detained until he was put on a plane the next morning to Sydney.
A statement from the government headed by military strongman Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who has ruled since seizing power in a bloodless coup in December 2006, said that Hunter had been declared a prohibited immigrant.
Fiji newspapers reported Wednesday that High Court Judge Jiten Singh had issued an injunction forbidding Hunter's expulsion before the journalist was escorted to the Sydney-bound aircraft.
The Fiji Sun said that the High Court order was addressed to the Immigration Director Viliame Naupoto and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, but both denied receiving it. Immigration Minister Ratu Epeli Ganilau, who signed the deportation order, said he knew nothing about the court injunction.
Hunter, who was forced to leave his wife and daughter in Suva, said on arrival in Sydney that he believed he was deported because the Fiji Sun published reports of alleged tax evasion by Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
"The trouble is there is no law in Fiji," Hunter told reporters. "The law is what certain people say it is on any given day, and if you don't like it, then you can argue that at length.
"It's leading to chaos, it's leading to economic chaos, the Fiji economy is in a shocking mess, the natural disaster of the cyclone recently absolutely has not helped, and it is difficult to see where the end of it is."
The Australian and New Zealand governments both attacked the deportation as a move to muzzle freedom of speech in Fiji and a further movement away from democracy, despite Bainimarama's promise to prepare for fresh elections.
