21 Oct 2020

New Caledonia court defers Temaru case

3:14 pm on 21 October 2020

The court case brought by French Polynesia's pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru against the French prosecutor has been deferred until 4 November.

French Polynesia leader Oscar Temaru.

French Polynesia leader Oscar Temaru. Photo: RNZI

In June, Temaru had sought a preliminary ruling in Tahiti claiming Herve Leroy had violated the assumption that he was innocent.

However, the court found it could not deal with the case with full impartiality and ordered it to be moved to New Caledonia where it has now been deferred.

Temaru said the prosecutor had asserted that he was convicted of a crime while the trial process had not been concluded.

Temaru had appealed a suspended six-month prison sentence given last year for exercising undue influence over funding arrangements for a community station, Radio Tefana.

In June, Leroy ordered the seizure of $US100,000 from Temaru's savings account before obtaining an authorisation by a judge as part of a new investigation into alleged abuse of public funds.

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