The Solomon Islands' new attorney-general has vanished hours after Australian officials vowed to extradite him on child sex charges, media reports said yesterday. Controversial Australian lawyer Julian Moti was arrested on Friday in Port Moresby at the Australian government's request, triggering strong protests from Honiara.
A Papua New Guinea magistrate released him on bail late on Friday, but his failure to return to court the following day led Papua New Guinea police to speculate that he had fled to another island, the Australian Associated Press said. Police said they had arranged for Moti to be arrested upon touchdown in Buka early yesterday afternoon. But an officer on the ground in Buka told reporters he was unaware of any such police action.
Australian authorities want Moti extradited to face prosecution for an alleged child sex offence in Vanuatu. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer earlier yesterday said Australia would seek Moti's extradition as soon as possible.
We would expect that to be followed," Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview published on its Web site. Moti's arrest has further damaged the relationship between Canberra and Honiara, which soured this month when Australian Ambassador Patrick Cole was expelled for allegedly interfering in local politics.
Moti, who was en route to Honiara, was picked up by police at Jacksons' Airport off a flight from Singapore. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, a personal friend of Moti, called the arrest a "serious violation" of the country's sovereignty and said that his government would make high-level protests to Canberra.
