Haniff withdrawn as counsel for Fiji Times Limited after client's contracts were tampered with

Suva lawyer, Faizal Haniff has withdrawn as counsel for Fiji Times Limited, Publisher Hank Arts and Editor Fred Wesley.Pravesh Sharma is the new counsel.Assistant DPP Lee Burney has now informed the court that Haniff will have to be a prosecution witness to explain how his clients’ contracts were tampered with.

The trial of Fiji Times Limited, Hank Arts, Fred Wesley, Nai Lalakai Editor Anare Ravula and contributor Josaia Waqabaca is expected to start from next Monday before Judge Thusara Rajasinghe.

The charges were earlier amended from inciting communal antagonism to sedition.

Anare Ravula’s lawyer Devanesh Sharma says the court needs to look at the common law definition of sedition.

He says the common law definition states that sedition is an act committed directly towards the state or government authorities.

According to the amended information earlier filed and served to Fiji Times Limited and others, it is alleged that Fiji Times, on the 27th of April last year printed the Nai Lalakai newspaper which contained an article which had content with a seditious intention to promote feelings of ill‑will and hostility between classes of the population.