 "Fijian coup leader Speight who held country’s PM hostage in 2000 pardoned, freed after 24 years")
Fijian former coup leader George Speight was granted a presidential pardon and freed on Thursday, after spending 24 years in jail on treason charges.
Fiji Corrections Service said that the businessman-turned-putschist was formally granted a pardon along with six others.
He was granted clemency on the recommendation of a “Mercy Commission” which was set up to deal with politically sensitive cases.
Speight, a bankrupt businessman, led a racially tinged 2000 coup that held prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry and lawmakers hostage for 56 days.
Speight claimed to be a champion of Indigenous Fijians and demanded that ethnic Indians be excluded from government.
His arrest caused riots, and while in jail his popularity was enough to see him elected to parliament – only to be kicked out of office for failure to attend.
Although charged with treason, his death sentence was commuted.
The contentious issue of his pardon and release has repeatedly been raised over the years – most notably by Indigenous Fijian allies.
About a third of Fijians have Indian heritage and half are Indigenous Melanesian.
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