Criminal charges laid against Speight

SUVA - George Speight has been charged with criminal offences under emergency decrees in Fiji and is being investigated for treason.

The charges mean he will likely be brought from prison on Nukulau Island to court in Suva. A hearing date has not been set. The rebel boss and several supporters are charged with unlawful assembly, assisting in the illegal burial of a body in Parliament and consorting with people who were illegally armed. Treason carries the death penalty, which has not been enforced since independence in 1970.

- REUTERS