Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. (René Descartes, mathematician and philosopher,1599-1650)

Saturday 4 May 2013

Even Government Supporters Did not Want This

More than one government supporter has told me the last thing they wanted was for  Rev Akuila Yabaki and the CCF to be found guilty, but the judiciary, independent as it is, could only rule according to the letter of the law.   We can now only hope that the man who for many years people have thought of as the  most honest voice of constitutional democracy in Fiji is not jailed.

CCF Media Release 
High Court Finds CCF Guilty of Contempt of Court

The Citizens’ Constitutional Forum and its Chief Executive Officer Reverend Akuila Yabaki have been found guilty of contempt of court by High Court Judge Justice William Calanchini this afternoon.

Justice Calanchini also refused the Recusal application filed by CCF.

CCF is currently analyzing the 30 page judgment with legal counsel, Munro Leys. Following the analysis and further consultations, CCF will announce its next course of action.

The matter has been adjourned to June 17th, 2013 for mitigation and pre-sentence hearing.

A copy of the judgment is available on the CCF website www.ccf.org.fj and on the CCF Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/177335582880/?fref=ts

…………………….
Reverend Akuila Yabaki
CEO - CCF
Website: www.ccf.org.fj

15 comments:

dost khan said...

Judiciary is not independent by its creation. Croz your own view respected but growing evidence showing favoritism in the system. In one particular case hearing of a matter vacated thrice and judges changed. There are letters from registerr and chief Justice confirming this which can be forwarded to you. So Dont speculate that that administration of justice is without manipulation.

Junta judiciary joke said...

Croz
The fool supported the illegal human rights abusing regime. He deserves all he gets. Why shouldn't he get an ankle massage like other hogtied prisoners of the regime HE SUPPORTED? The dictator has already announced that torture committed by his thugs is acceptable.
As for the ridiculous statement of the so called independent judiciary following the law? What law? Illegal junta law? Get some honesty and credibility Croz, before it is too late. You know as well as the rest of the international community that the rule of law in Fiji under the current administration is compromised.

Anonymous said...

infrequently, the regime does something smart, like not arresting UFDF leaders. really took the wind out of their sails on that one.......now they are adrift

to be consistent they must throw Yabaki in jail, otherwise the courts will be shown to be a political animal.

actually the UFDF will not have to work to hard at defeating VB, he is to good at digging his own hole.
.....................

in so far as scandilising the court. get real, i say less than .01 of the public noticed what the CCF said or gave it nothing more than the briefest attention.

probably 90% of the population believes that the courts are used againts enemies, of the regime, to destroy or intimidate.

the CCF case falls into the intimidation catagory, and regime supporter are ok with that, but are now terrified that the judge might get out of the bed on the wrong side or suffering some other unpredictable sympom that would be counter productive to the dictatorship.

john said...

Indeed, this is clear and undeniable evidence that our courts are completely independent. While the good judge knew perfectly well that his ruling will be used by regime opponents to further smear the good work of this government, he indeed ruled in line with the law. There are even rumours that the AG phoned the judge to get non guilty verdict for Yabaki, but obviously it was in vain. Now Yabaki has to face the music and he should definitely be sentenced to the maximum jail term.

Anonymous said...

John. Quiet on the contrary clear evidence of a rogue judiciary by default.

paying the price said...

The judge seems to have followed the letter of the law. Yabaki made a mistake in attacking the judiciary. Now he must pay the price. He took the can for someone else who was the actual editor of the magazine. Amazing also that the article was published although he has in house lawyers. He probably won't go to jail, Rika and Rex Gardner escaped jail sentences. Only Parmanandam went to jail years ago (for 6 months) but a heavy fine is inevitable. Strange way to spend donor funds. Or do his donors expect to pay for saying something they agree with?

contempt said...

Funny that when people attack the judiciary they don't talk about where the judgments went wrong? I don't see what choice anyone had to bring Yabaki to court when even the Oceania Football Club was brought to court for contempt. Yabaki should do some crash course what what is the way to avoid being arrested.Or does he think he is above the law?

John said...

Be careful Anon, what you say scandalises Fiji's judiciary and is punishable by law. The courts have shown again and again that they are completely independent. Several international bodies such as the international bar association have attested this. The only thing to criticise is the lenience of the judiciary when it comes to dealing with opponents of our government. How come that Mahen is still roaming free insulting our leaders? How come that Qarase could get out of jail? And how come that a guy like Yabaki is not imprisoned straight away? Even registration of old racist parties is now possible again. If anything, we should be concerned that the government and the judiciary have softened their stance against opponents and misfits.

Junta judiciary said...

What law? Junta law? Fiji is a dictatorship where the rule of law is a farce. The judiciary is corrupted as is the entire illegal regime.

Kali baat said...

I'm sick of people making claims like this without substantiating them.

> There are letters from registerr and chief Justice confirming this which can be forwarded to you

What do you mean by "CAN BE FORWARDED TO YOU". Why haven't you forwarded them already or posted them online. You made a claim of favoritism/corruption, so it falls on you to prove it. You can't make an accusation and then say you can show proof. Show proof first and it will speak for itself.

Kali baat said...

By your logic, Qarase also got what he deserved, as he was a supporter of the earlier coup.

So if all the leaders are corrupt, who are you rooting for now?

Must be easy living in a black and white world, se cava taciqu?

Kali baat said...

> There are even rumours that the AG phoned the judge to get non guilty verdict for Yabaki, but obviously it was in vain.

Rumours are not worth the electricity it cost to share them on this blogsite. Why are you spreading them?

Kali baat said...

@Junta judiciary

Yes, Junta law, or whatever law you call it. The law of the country is the law of the country whether it is laid down by a liberal democracy or a sheik in the middle east or Stalin or Bainimarama or Kim john il or Qarase.

The law is the law is the law. You either choose to follow it, or you don't. Either way, you will be made to bend to its will.

Are you so think that you think junta law isn't a real law? Areh wha what school you went to bhaia?

kali Such said...

Truesup man, you have to take the law on the chin, whether you are an asylum seeker forced to go to Nauru (most of them prefer to go home and face the Taliban) whether you are an Aboriginal who never agreed to the passing of the laws anyway and didn't even have a right to vote on the law until the 1960's, whether you are Julian Moti or whatever. If we agree with the law and the judges good, if not you still have to follow it bro unless you decode to do a civil disobedience thing like Gandhi and go to prison as an act of protest. Stop complaining Reverend, take it like a man. You pay taxes and you follow the law, junta or whatever.Or be Gamdhi. Can't have it both ways bro. You follow the law or you don't. If you follow it do it properly or you end up in Korovou.

Fantasy world said...

@Junta judiciary
Baap re baap. Do you of the state of the judiciary before this government? If unsure read Justice Marshall on the political bias of the previous judges under Tuivaga and Fatiaki.Although after this CCF case looks like the good Justice has also been caught telling lies on oath. Baap re baap. Corrupt judges eh?