UN rejects Fiji torturer

Wednesday, May 29, 1991 - 10:00

UN rejects Fiji torturer

Fijian army officer Captain Sotia Ponijiase has been ordered out of Kuwait after the United Nations discovered his recent conviction for kidnap and torture.

Ponijiase was appointed a member of Fiji's contingent in the UN observer team in Kuwait by the Fiji government. Ponijiase last October led a squad of soldiers who kidnapped and tortured human rights campaigner, physicist and chairperson of Fiji's Group Against Racial Discrimination, Dr Anirudh Singh.

The appointment of Ponijiase to the UN post after his November conviction caused an international outcry. Dr Singh complained to the UN, and Ponijiase's appointment was revoked.

From GLW issue 14