Fiji treason hearing begins

A navy boat brought Speight across the bay to Suva

George Speight, the leader of last year's nationalist coup in Fiji, has appeared in court at the start of committal hearings on treason charges.

Speight was "not nervous" as he arrived at court

The coup in May 2000 toppled the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister.

Mahendra Chaudry and members of his government were held hostage for 56 days before a negotiated settlement led to Mr Speight's surrender.

But before the hearing got properly under way, the case was adjourned for a week when Mr Speight, who faces the death penalty if found guilty, requested a new lawyer.

'No regrets'

Mr Speight and 12 of his associates were brought to Suva early on Tuesday by a navy patrol boat from Nukulau island where they are being held in custody.

Ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was ousted in the uprising

Security was light, with only a few unarmed police officers stationed at the court building.

Looking relaxed, Mr Speight said he had "no regrets".

Asked whether he was nervous, he said: "Not at all. I would say the nervousness is on the other side."

Prosecutors - led by New Zealand Queen's Counsel Gerard McCoy - are expected to use videotapes of Mr Speight's daily news conferences during the coup to support the treason charges.

He said at the time that he had carried out the coup in the name of indigenous Fijians, who make up 51% of the country's 840,000 population.

The case is expected to last up to four months, with over 200 witnesses expected to testify.

Mr Speight's defence is expected to rely heavily on guarantees of immunity given when he released hostages from the parliament building.

But the military say the guarantees are no longer binding, because Mr Speight's men did not hand over all their weapons.

Elections are due in late August, and Mr Speight has indicated that he wants to stand as a candidate.