The court proceedings concerning the abuse of office charges 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 charges sanctioned by former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku. The postponement occurred as all magistrates were attending a conference in Suva this week.
The case has been rescheduled for next Tuesday at the Suva Magistrate’s Court, where it will be overseen by Magistrate Yogesh Prasad. Until the proceedings resume, the prosecution’s request to consolidate the files concerning both individuals will be paused.
In a related matter, Sayed-Khaiyum has been excused from attending the next court session. This request was granted by Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa while overseeing the case involving Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem, regarding the abuse of office charges. Sayed-Khaiyum is facing one count of abuse of office, accused of signing a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government of Fiji and Saneem. Following this transaction, Saneem has been charged with receiving a corrupt benefit of $55,944.03 in back pay from Sayed-Khaiyum.
During the court session, Sayed-Khaiyum’s defense attorney Devanesh Sharma requested an exemption from attendance due to health concerns, which the court accepted. As a result, only Saneem will appear at the next court session.