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Ex-Solomon Islands FM charged with inciting riots A former Solomon Islands foreign minister and one time militant leader appeared in court Tuesday on charges of arson and inciting rioting that rocked this South Pacific capital last month.
Alex Bartlett joins two lawmakers named as Cabinet ministers in the new government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare who have also been charged with inciting the April 18 rioting, arson and looting. The two others have been in detention since May 5. Bartlett, 53, a former lawmaker and former leader of the disbanded militant group the Malaita Eagle Force, was detained in police custody until Thursday. Bartlett faces one charge of inciting a riot and two counts of arson. The maximum sentence for inciting a riot is life, which sees an offender spend 10-15 years in prison, depending on the sentencing judge. Prosecutor Paul Bannister alleged that Bartlett instructed a man to burn down a building in Honiara's Chinatown business district during the rioting. Violence sparked by the election of former Prime Minister Snyder Rini devastated much of the Chinatown area and forced several hundred Chinese citizens to flee the islands' nation. Bannister said eyewitnesses had seen Bartlett on the streets of Chinatown shaking hands with looters and encouraging them to continue the destruction. The court will reconvene Thursday for what is expected to be Magistrate William Seri Seneka's ruling on whether Bartlett has a case to answer. |
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