SYDNEY, Sept 19 (Askume) – Former coup leader George Speight, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Fiji for treason in 2002, was released from jail on Thursday after being pardoned by the Fiji Charity Commission, authorities said.
Speight was released on Thursday, a day after he was pardoned by Fiji President Ratu William Katoniwere, the Fiji Correctional Service said in a statement.
The report said Speight was one of seven men who were pardoned and released.
“These pardons were officially approved on September 18, 2024. As a result, these designated individuals have been officially released today,” the statement said.
From May to July 2000, armed men led by businessman Speight took Fiji’s first Indian-born Prime Minister, then Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry (Mahendra Chaudhry) and 35 other MPs hostage.
The Charity Commission, which has a constitutional role in the justice system, said in a statement on Thursday that Speight was imprisoned for 24 years after pleading guilty to treason and had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment in 2002.
The committee recommended that Speight be granted a pardon “taking into account his recovery and the time he has served in prison.”
