Benjamin Wainiqolo Padarath appeared in court today and was granted bail under strict conditions in relation to an alleged social media offence.
As part of his bail conditions, Padarath is prohibited from using social media on any platform, either under his own name or any other alias.
The court ordered that any social media activity traced to his IP address will result in his immediate remand into custody.
He was also required to surrender his travel documents, while a stop-departure order has been issued against him.
The matter has been adjourned to 18 February 2026.
In a statement, Fiji Police confirmed that Padarath is accused of circulating an edited newspaper article on his social media account that allegedly contained false and misleading information against two prominent individuals.
While police did not identify the complainants, the two individuals are believed to be political figures.
Police said the matter was investigated under Section 24 of the Online Safety Act 2018, which relates to Causing Harm by Posting Electronic Communication.
