SYDNEY (Reuters) – Fiji’s former long-serving prime minister Frank Bainimarama has avoided jail and was discharged by the High Court on Thursday, after earlier this month being found guilty of perverting the court of justice, local media reported.
Bainimarama led the Pacific island nation for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December 2022 to a coalition of parties led by current Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
A former military chief, Bainimarama came to power in a 2006 coup and later won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018.
He was found guilty this month by the High Court of attempting to pervert the course of justice while he was prime minister by telling then police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho to stay away from an investigation into the University of South Pacific, court documents show.
On Thursday a sentencing magistrate cited Bainimarama’s poor health and heart condition and granted him an absolute discharge, Fiji Village reported.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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