Acquitted

For the past month, Tongan People's Representative 'Isileli Pulu has been standing trial on eight charges of abetting murder and arson stemming from the November 2006 riots. Today, he and his co-accused were acquitted by a jury. In a related trial, Tongan Rugby Union chairman (and former political candidate) Sangster Saulala had sedition charges against him dismissed after the government failed to present sufficient evidence. But while the monarchical stitch-up has failed in these cases, it's not entirely over: four People's Representatives are still facing sedition charges for speeches they gave before the riots, and if convicted they will lose their seats. Whether the Tongan people will tolerate that is another question...