George Speight, Remanded in custody
Fijian coup leader, George Speight, and twelve of his henchmen pleaded not guilty in a Suva magistates court today to charges stemming from the 19 May seizure of parliament. Chief Magistrate Salesi Temo, who heard the pleas amid tight security in a court building packed with soldiers and police, remanded Speight and his supporters in custody for a further hearing on 1 September. He said he would review a defence application for bail on 11 August.
Mr Speight and special forces soldier Ilisoni Ligairi are charged with consorting with people carrying firearms and going armed in public, unlawful burial of a body and two counts of unlawful assembly. The remaining 11 face charges of unlawful burial of a body and unlawful assembly. The body was that of a rebel killed during the occupation of parliament and buried in the parliamentary grounds.
The accused were driven from the court in a police bus through a crowd of around 100 cheering supporters, before being placed in an island prison.
