Solomons, regional police launch inquiry into PM's office raid

Police of the Solomon Islands and the regional mission in the Pacific island country on Monday announced a joint investigation into a raid by police on Solomons Prime Minister Mannasseh Sogavare's office last Friday.

An official complaint has been made to police.

Police said in a statement that when any official complaint of police conduct is made, it is referred for investigation by professional standards officers, the Australian Associated Press reported.

During the raid, a door was forced open and a fax machine seized by police as part of inquiries into the affair of Solomons suspended attorney-general Julian Moti, who is an Australian lawyer.

Sogavare, who is in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum meeting, has condemned the raid, describing it as provocative.

Moti was appointed as Solomons attorney-general on Sept. 21 and was arrested in Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the end of September at the request of the Australian government, that is seeking to extradite Moti to face child sex charges involving a 13-year-old girl in Vanuatu in 1997.

Moti later jumped bail and had been taking political refuge in the Solomon Islands High Commission in PNG before he was flown to the Solomon Islands on board a PNG military plane a fortnight ago.

Moti's case is now the focus of the strained relations between the Solomons and Australia, a case sparked by the expulsion of Australian high commissioner last month.

Canberra is not happy with the appointment of Moti, a personal friend of Sogavare and is seen to have an anti-Australian influence on the prime minister.

But Australia has denied its pursuit of Moti is politically motivated.

Source: Xinhua