SUVA, Fiji — (For further information about the history of this story, please see Impunity Watch Articles here and here).  The trial of eight police officers charged with the murder of rugby player Tevita Malasebe continued this week with the High Court hearing testimony from a forensic pathologist from the Colonial War Memorial Hospital. 

According to Dr. Prashant Sambekar, Malasebe sustained thirty-eight individual injuries on the night of 06 June 2007. The injuries were sustained to Malasebe’s head, chest, feet, hands, neck and head.  These injuries were accompanied by a collapsed lung and a swelling of Malasebe’s brain.  The swelling of the brain, the doctor said, was most likely due to vigorous sharking of the victim’s head.  While Samebekar testified that he could not pin down the exact time of Malasebe’s death, he did say that based on his coloration and the appearance of the bruises on his body, the injuries were still fresh when Malasebe was brought to hospital.   

The trial is set to continue on Monday morning. 

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International — Trial against eight policemen charged with murder in Fiji gets underway — 03 April 2008

Fiji Times — Pathologist takes stand — 04 April 2008

Fiji Times — Malasebe had injuries on his body: Pathologist — 03 April 2008

Fiji Village  — Pathologist Takes Stand in Malasebe Case — 04 April 2008