A former civil servant in Fiji has been charged with plotting to blow up Nadi International Airport.
Navitalai Naisoro yesterday pleaded not guilty to a charge of incitement to destroy the airport with explosives in 1999, the online news service fijilive reported.
Naisoro, who was a permanent secretary
in the Government of former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, is accused of plotting the bombing after Rabuka was defeated in general elections in 1999. He is the second person charged over the airport plot.
Fiji businessman Watisoni Nata was charged last week with the same offence. He also pleaded not guilty.
Meanwhile, a judge yesterday declared a mistrial in a case against Rabuka, who has been charged with inciting a military mutiny in which eight soldiers were killed.
A new trial will start on Monday.
High Court judge Gerard Winter said his finding of a mistrial was through "no fault of either party" and he ordered a ban on publication of all evidence from the first trial.
A smiling Rabuka walked from the court surrounded by his daughter and close relatives after the judge relaxed bail conditions and suspended a curfew earlier imposed on the former leader.
Rabuka faces two counts of inciting a mutiny to overthrow Voreqe Bainimarama as military chief in 2000. Commodore Bainimarama was forced to flee for his life before loyal troops regained control.
Rabuka led two military coups in 1987 and served as prime minister of an elected Government between 1992 and 1999, before the Labour Party's Mahendra Chaudhry was elected as Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.
Mr Chaudhry was deposed a year later when he and his Government were held hostage by an armed group led by nationalist businessman George Speight.
Commodore Bainimarama declared martial law and ended the 2000 coup before handing power to an interim Government led by present Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.
The mutiny was carried out by officers sympathetic to the coup plotters.
- AAP
