Last year, the Tongan government tried four Peoples' Representatives on sedition charges for speeches they gave before the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots. Now they're doing it again. Six men are currently standing trial in the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on sedition charges for speeches given around the time of the riots. And one of them - Sione Teisina Fuko - is a People's Representative. If convicted, he will lose his seat.
Unfortunately, the exact words the accused are alleged to have said are not available (Tonga's sedition law has no "good faith" clause, making media publication hazardous). But as with the previous cases, I object to the very idea of a sedition prosecution. At its heart, what these men are alleged to have done is incited a riot, and that is what they should be charged with. Of course, that would require showing a direct link between what was said and what was done, or at least an intention on the part of the speakers that the crowd should run amok. Instead, by charging them with sedition, all the government has to show is that they "incited disaffection" i.e. said nasty things about those in power. That is the job of opposition politicians, and prosecuting them for it smacks of political persecution.
Fortunately, those previous trials were unsuccessful, resulting in either acquittals or charges being dismissed due to lack of evidence. And hopefully these ones will be to. If the Tongan government wants to beat its opposition, it should do so at the ballot box - not by abusing the courts.
