The present report illustrates Amnesty International’s concerns about widespread human rights violations which followed then President Ratu Josefa Iloilo’s abrogation of the Fiji Constitution on 10 April 2009. These include violations of the rights to freedom of assembly, opinion, expression and movement, the right to a fair trial, and freedom from arbitrary detention. Amnesty states that it is crucial for the human rights of persons facing the legal system that they can be assisted by lawyers of their own choice, independent of the authorities and capable of working without fear that any harm would befall them in protecting their clients’ human rights, which is laid down in the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
The present report illustrates Amnesty International’s concerns about widespread human rights violations which followed then President Ratu Josefa Iloilo’s abrogation of the Fiji Constitution on 10 April 2009. These include violations of the rights to freedom of assembly, opinion, expression and movement, the right to a fair trial, and freedom from arbitrary detention. Amnesty states that it is crucial for the human rights of persons facing the legal system that they can be assisted by lawyers of their own choice, independent of the authorities and capable of working without fear that any harm would befall them in protecting their clients’ human rights, which is laid down in the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
