Suva, Oct 06: A total of 2,115 people have been taken to court on criminal charges linked to Fiji's 2000 coup, Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes said in a letter to the Fiji Sun newspaper today. Plotters led by now convicted traitor George Speight seized Parliament on May 19, 2000, taking the government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry hostage. Chaudhry's government never returned to office.

Last month a New Zealand army instructor Lieutenant-Colonel Viliame Seruvakula, who in 2000 was commander of the third battalion of the Fiji infantry forces, was interviewed by Fiji Police and disclosed the names of those he claimed were the real leaders of the coup. Two senior New Zealand policemen will later this month arrive to conduct a peer review of the coup files.

Hughes confirmed investigations were still underway. He said of the 3,521 investigated, 2,115 were charged and taken to court, 704 found guilty, 99 sentenced to jail terms, 97 have suspended sentences, 45 fined and 461 acquitted or bound over.

Bureau Report