6 Dec 2016

Fiji govt should learn from Amnesty report on torture - Rabuka

8:00 pm on 6 December 2016

The leader of Fiji's opposition Sodelpa party says the government should take lessons from an Amnesty International report about torture rather than disparaging it.

The leader of Fiji's opposition SODELPA party, Sitiveni Rabuka.

The leader of Fiji's opposition SODELPA party, Sitiveni Rabuka. Photo: AFP

The report, released yesterday, said people were still being violently assaulted by security forces that act with relative impunity, highlighting several prominent cases.

But the attorney general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the report was biased, selective and did not reflect the great strides that had been made to deal with torture.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum Photo: SUPPLIED

Sodelpa's leader Sitiveni Rabuka, himself a former military commander and coup leader, said the report highlights serious and well-known problems that need to be tackled.

"The comment by the attorney general is uncalled for, they should study the report. They say in the press that there is no tolerance of any activity of this sort but the people have to see it to believe it," he said.

Mr Rabuka also said he supports the report's recommendation of removing the military from domestic policing matters.

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