26 Feb 2007

Suspended Solomons Attorney General believes he is a victim of conspiracy

4:04 pm on 26 February 2007

The suspended Solomon Islands Attorney General, Julian Moti, who is wanted in Australia on child sex charges, believes he is the victim of conspiracy.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the fugitive Australian lawyer believes he is a casaulty of extortionists, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and legal adversaries.

Remaining in Honiara, Mr Moti has been preparing his defence since escaping from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands in October last year.

The Solomons prime minister has refused to extradite Mr Moti, who jumped bail after being arrested by police in PNG.

The Australian federal police allege Mr Moti bribed a Vanuatu magistrate who threw out the original child sex charges in 1999.

But Mr Moti says his Port Vila law firm later offered the magistrate a job and paid for him to study in Australia without his knowledge.

The Australian insists he is not a child molester, and accuses the AFP of coaching witnesses, filling in holes, fixing the contradictions with investigations and outrageous allegations.