New Zealand man charged in alleged Fiji plot to assassinate military chief

A New Zealand businessman accused of plotting to assassinate Fiji coup leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama and two of his ministers has been charged with three counts of conspiracy to murder, officials said.

A state lawyer told a special sitting of the Suva Magistrate's Court on Tuesday night that millionaire businessman Ballu Khan was "the instigator and financier" of the plot to kill Fiji's interim prime minister and two cabinet ministers.

Police escorted him to the court where Asishna Prasad, senior counsel at the Director of Public Prosecutions Office, outlined the accusations.

Khan was charged with three counts of conspiracy to murder when he appeared before Magistrate Aminiasi Katonivualiku.

He is alleged to have planned to assassinate interim Prime Minister Bainimarama, interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

Khan denied the charges.

His lawyer, Peter Williams, requested bail, arguing that 10 others similarly charged late last year are out on bail. Williams also argued that Khan was still ill and submitted three medical reports.

Prasad opposed the application, saying Khan was charged with "serious offenses" that carried a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

Khan was granted bail with strict conditions, including confiscation of his passport and that he remain at his Suva home under a strict night curfew.

Khan had been held in hospital under police guard since his arrest on Nov. 3 last year, but was released after a High Court hearing earlier Tuesday.

New Zealand authorities have protested Khan's treatment by Fiji police and military, after he suffered a fractured skull and concussion during his initial arrest.

Khan was detained with 17 other people, 10 of whom earlier were charged with plotting to kill Bainimarama and his senior ministers.