Italy has refused a request for entry from Fiji's self-appointed Prime Minister.
The first secretary at Italy's Embassy in Canberra, Robert Mengoni, said an application for a visa from coup leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama made at the end of September was rejected.
"The commodore requested a visa to
come to Italy at the end of September and we refused," Mr Mengoni said.
"We were forced to refuse the visa to him ... It was refused in accordance with the European position regarding the coup d'etat in Fiji."
Commodore Bainimarama came to power on December 5 last year after he overthrew the Government in Fiji and appointed himself Prime Minister.
Since then, his Administration has been accused of a range of human rights abuses.
The military has allegedly carried out beatings, killings and sexual assaults against opponents of the Bainimarama Government.
Military leaders have also launched crackdowns on free speech, including attempts to stop people reading and posting information on the internet.
Commodore Bainimarama was reportedly seeking to enter Rome to visit the headquarters of the Multinational Observers Force - an organisation that supervises the implementation of the security provisions of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
He was due to return to Fiji yesterday, after a visit to the United States, where he addressed the United Nations.
Australia has travel bans in place against members and supporters of the Fiji interim Government, Fiji's soldiers and officials appointed by the military.
AAP
