High Court in Lautoka judge Justice Riyaz Hamza has told the court he cannot stop the media from publishing anything that transpires in court.

Justice Hamza made the statement after State lawyer Muhammed Ifraaz Rafiq requested a closed court proceedings as requested by the first witness in the murder trial of Mohammed Naushad and Nazreen Nisha Khan of Sigatoka.

The couple are charged with murdering an 18-year-old student on June 30,2022, while Mr Naushad faces an additional count of criminal intimidation.

Mr Rafiq filed an application yesterday for closed court proceedings to protect the witness from media attention.

He said the witness claimed her personal details were being posted on Facebook, and that she was a vulnerable witness.

In response Justice Hamza said he couldn’t stop the media from publishing anything that transpired in court.

Meanwhile, defence lawyer Iqbal Khan said they needed to have a fair trial.

Mr Khan said the witness was a juvenile when the case was called in 2022 and was now an adult victim.

He said it was not a sexual offence case, but one of murder.

The trial was called at 12.05pm yesterday in a closed court session and will resume today.