A judge in French Polynesia has approved the seizure of $US100,000 from the bank account of pro-independence leader and Mayor of Faaa, Oscar Temaru.
French Polynesia leader Oscar Temaru. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
Last week, Mr Temaru discovered the prosecutor arranged for the seizure and this week started an indefinite hunger strike over his treatment by the French judiciary.
While Mr Temaru unsuccessfully tried to meet the prosecutor Herve Leroy, his lawyer did get to meet him and established the money was seized without a judge's order, but this had now been supplied.
The judge's decision can be appealed.
The money was taken amid a new probe into the alleged misuse of public funds after the council of Faaa had approved the funding of the defence of Mr Temaru in a 2019 trial.
Last September, Mr Temaru was given a suspended six-month prison sentence over funding arrangements for Radio Tefana, a community broadcaster in Faaa.
Mr Temaru was convicted for exercising undue influence because the court found that Radio Tefana benefited his political party.
The case is being appealed and the defence wants the case to be thrown out, saying the prosecution failed to cite a single incident of propaganda.
Mr Temaru said the real reason for his conviction was in the eyes of France he committed treason by taking French presidents to the International Criminal Court over nuclear weapons tests and accusing them of crimes against humanity.
