The court proceedings regarding the abuse of office charge against former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum were postponed yesterday. The session was intended to address the State prosecution’s response to the defense’s challenge of the charge, which was authorized by former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku.
The adjournment occurred because all magistrates were participating in a conference in Suva this week. The matter has been rescheduled for next Tuesday at the Suva Magistrate’s Court in front of Magistrate Yogesh Prasad. In the meantime, the prosecution’s application to merge the files for both individuals involved will be temporarily suspended.
In related news, Sayed-Khaiyum will be absent from the next court hearing. Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa approved his request while overseeing the case of Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Election Mohammed Saneem, both facing charges of abuse of office. Sayed-Khaiyum stands accused of signing a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government of Fiji and Saneem. This transaction led to Saneem being charged with receiving a corrupt benefit amounting to $55,944.03 as back-pay from Sayed-Khaiyum.
During the session, defense attorney Devanesh Sharma asked for Sayed-Khaiyum’s absence to be excused due to health concerns, and the court granted this request, allowing only Saneem to appear at the next hearing.