By Ryan L. Maness
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji — On Thursday evening immigration officials arrived at the home of Fiji Times publisher, Evan Hannah, where they took him into custody and transported him to Nadi airport.  The officials were under orders of the interim Defense Minister and the ministry’s permanent secretary to deport Hannah, an Australian citizen, to Sydney.  Hannah was alleged to have violated the terms of his visa to be in Fiji by publishing articles in his newspaper.

Soon after, Fiji Times lawyers petitioned the High Court for an injunctive order to delay the deportation.  In response to the request, Justice Filimone Jitoko ordered that the authorities produce Hannah for a hearing at 3 pm on Thursday.  However, despite the Court’s order, however, Hannah’s deportation was still processed.  The Fiji Times reports that while newspaper lawyers were stationed at the entrance of the Nadi airport waiting to serve the habeas corpus, the authorities took Hannah to an alternate entrance and were therefore not served with the paperwork.

While Parmesh Chand, Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s office refused to comment in the wake of the deportation, Mahendra Chaundry, Fiji Labour Party Leader, that the media must play by the rules.  Chand said that the media must “be held accountable and responsible in a fragile society still struggling to achieve national unity and progress.”  He also said that the media has enormous power, but that it had been showing a distinct political agenda by distorting and selectively reporting on certain issues.

Hannah’s deportation brought on the instant condemnation of foreign powers.  The United States issued a statement taking note of the fact that Hannah was the second newspaper publisher deported in ten weeks and urging Fiji’s interim administration to respect the human rights of all of Fiji’s citizens.  The New Zealand PM, Helen Clark, called this another effort by the interim administration to “muzzle the media and close down freedom of speech.”  She also said, “the manner of the deportation also suggests disregard for the rule of law.”

Stephen Smith, the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, echoed the United States’ and New Zealand condemnation, but he also called upon the interim government to provide an explanation for why Hannah was deported.  “Unless the interim Fiji Government can provide some satisfactory explanation it can only be seen as another blatant attack by the illegal Fiji Interim Government on the media in an attempt to muzzle freedom of speech,” he said.

Hannah, was not able to fly to Sydney directly from Suva, instead he was forced to fly by way of Seoul, South Korea.  He was scheduled to arrive early on Friday.

For more information, please see:
Fiji Times — Media not a law unto itself, Chaundry says — 03 May 2008

Fiji Times — Expulsion dismays NZ Prime Minister — 03 May 2008

Fiji Times — ‘Deportation disturbing’ — 03 May 2008

Fiji Times — Court calls for answers: Citizens condemn publisher’s deportation — 03 May 2008

Fiji Times — Hannah expulsion concerns US — 02 May 2008

Fiji Times — Australian Government disturbed at Fiji Times’ boss treatment — 02 May 2008

Fiji Times — Chand refuses to answer questions — 02 May 2008

Fiji Times — Court order disobeyed, Hannah deported — 02 May 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Deported Fiji Times publisher to be flown to Australia via Seoul — 02 May 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji newspaper chief in police custody — 01 May 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Fiji court orders detained publisher to appear before it this afternoon — 01 May 2008