SEVEN witnesses will be called in the lawsuit filed by the former supervisor of elections, Mohammed Saneem, against the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Laisani Tabuakuro, for making defamatory statements against him.
The matter was called yesterday before Acting Master Liyanage Wickramasekara where the parties confirmed all relevant documents had been filed.
According to Mr Saneem’s statement of claim, on July 3 last year, he had posted a ‘statement from the attorney-general’ on the Fiji Government Facebook page, which he captioned, ‘Abuse of office. None of his actions is unlawful. The State should be a model litigant. Those appointments and terminations he purported to do are all unlawful’.
Ms Tabuakuro then commented on the post, saying: “So rich coming from you. Stop spreading lies, you unethical lawyer. The Supreme Court told you it will not rule on this issue, so there is no issue with your criminal charges.”
Mr Saneem said the comments greatly injured his credit, character and reputation.
One of the orders sought by Mr Saneem is an injunction restraining Ms Tabuakuro from further harassing or defaming him on any social media platform.
Representing herself, Ms Tabuakuro, and lawyer Aiman Sayed-Khaiyum had no objection to a three-day hearing.
Ms Tabuakuro is one of the three witnesses who will give evidence while Mr Saneem is calling four.
A hearing date will be assigned soon.
