Lawyers for the State says a mistrial is the only remedy for prejudice caused by lawyer Wylie Clarke during the trial of three former government ministers yesterday.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Laisani Tabuakuro has applied to Justice Usaia Ratuvili of the High Court in Suva to declare a mistrial contending that once the application is granted, the case will return to the pre-trial stage before a new judge for a voir dire on disputed evidence.
At yesterday’s hearing, Ms Tabuakuro submitted that Mr Clarke, who represents former health minister Dr Neil Sharma, disrupted proceedings through repeated objections during the evidence of former FICAC investigator Alifereti Wakanivesi.
The objections concerned the lawfulness of FICAC’s seizure of Dr Sharma’s emails, which Ms Tabuakuro said were crucial evidence showing communication with a person of interest.
Raising objections so late, she argued, caused irreparable prejudice because a voir dire could not be held while Mr Wakanivesi was under oath.
Ms Tabuakuro also noted an allegation of perjury was made by Mr Clarke against Mr Wakanivesi, which scandalised the witness but was later shown to be incorrect.
She further argued that the three accused, including former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, had not entered a plea on the amended information, making the proceedings procedurally defective. She said a mistrial was necessary to protect the integrity of the trial and ensure fairness.
In response, Mr Clarke argued that the State had not met the exceptional threshold for a mistrial and that the evidence to which he had objected had been presented in breach of basic evidential rules.
Devanesh Sharma, who represents Mr Bainimarama and Mr Sayed-Khaiyum, added that the absence of a recorded plea was a technical, not fatal, defect. He said the trial was still at an early stage, the defence had not begun, and evidential disputes could be resolved through normal procedures. Terminating the trial now, he argued, would be disproportionate and cause greater injustice.
The three men face charges of abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and breach of trust relating to transactions that allegedly took place in 2011.
Justice Ratuvili will deliver his ruling on March 20.
