Vanuatu MP Arnold Prasad, son of Indo-Fijian tradesman, also in custody; Prasad is Minister of Youth and Sport
Correctional officers putting up tarps at detention facility in Port Vila where bribery MP; main culprit Pipite with Luveni in Fiji parliament
Vanuatu's president Baldwin Lonsdale has revoked the pardons granted to 14 government MPs convicted of bribery.
Shortly after the announcement, police arrested several MPs and transferred them to a correctional facility in the capital, Port Vila.
Eleven MPs and three lawyers were named on the arrest warrant, served on suspicion of conspiracy to defeat the course of justice.
The ministers already in custody have been stood down from their parliamentary positions.
The arrests relate to a meeting that was held to organise the pardons before their controversial announcement on Sunday by the acting president, Marcellino Pipite.
The man at the centre of the original bribery convictions that sparked the crisis, deputy prime minister Moanna Carcasses, was not named on the arrest warrant, nor was fellow convicted MP and foreign minister Serge Vohor. It is believed that Carcasses and Vohor were not present at the meeting.
Earlier, Mr Lonsdale said Pipite breached Vanuatu's constitution and used presidential powers to pervert the course of justice.
Pipite, who was acting president on the weekend, used his interim executive powers to pardon himself and 13 other MPs, including Carcasses.
The president said Pipite acted before the MPs had been sentenced and a pardon only applies to people who have been sent to jail.
The controversial pardon has led to a political crisis and sparked anger among anti-corruption activists.
Under Vanuatu's constitution, the speaker acts as president when the latter is travelling overseas.
Section 38 states the president may pardon, commute or reduce a sentence imposed on a person convicted of an offence.
They were due to be sentenced on October 22.
Mr Lonsdale told local media today the revocation was necessary because Pipite had breached the provisions of the leadership code in the constitution.
Mr Lonsdale, who returned to Vanuatu late Sunday afternoon, had vowed to take action against the MPs and "clean the dirt from my backyard".
Meanwhile, the opposition also filed a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister, Sato Kilman, who has not been heard from since the conviction of most of his ruling government MPs.
The no-confidence motion is expected to be put to the 53-seat parliament on October 21.
Last Friday, Vanuatu's Supreme Court found the deputy prime minister had made cash payments amounting to 35 million Vatu ($452,000) to his fellow MPs last year, when they were all in opposition.
Justice Mary Sey ruled that the payments were corruptly made by the deputy prime minister, corruptly received, and designed to influence MPs in their capacity as public officials. Source: ABC News, Australia
Shortly after the announcement, police arrested several MPs and transferred them to a correctional facility in the capital, Port Vila.
Eleven MPs and three lawyers were named on the arrest warrant, served on suspicion of conspiracy to defeat the course of justice.
The ministers already in custody have been stood down from their parliamentary positions.
The arrests relate to a meeting that was held to organise the pardons before their controversial announcement on Sunday by the acting president, Marcellino Pipite.
The man at the centre of the original bribery convictions that sparked the crisis, deputy prime minister Moanna Carcasses, was not named on the arrest warrant, nor was fellow convicted MP and foreign minister Serge Vohor. It is believed that Carcasses and Vohor were not present at the meeting.
Earlier, Mr Lonsdale said Pipite breached Vanuatu's constitution and used presidential powers to pervert the course of justice.
Pipite, who was acting president on the weekend, used his interim executive powers to pardon himself and 13 other MPs, including Carcasses.
The president said Pipite acted before the MPs had been sentenced and a pardon only applies to people who have been sent to jail.
The controversial pardon has led to a political crisis and sparked anger among anti-corruption activists.
Under Vanuatu's constitution, the speaker acts as president when the latter is travelling overseas.
Section 38 states the president may pardon, commute or reduce a sentence imposed on a person convicted of an offence.
They were due to be sentenced on October 22.
Mr Lonsdale told local media today the revocation was necessary because Pipite had breached the provisions of the leadership code in the constitution.
Mr Lonsdale, who returned to Vanuatu late Sunday afternoon, had vowed to take action against the MPs and "clean the dirt from my backyard".
Meanwhile, the opposition also filed a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister, Sato Kilman, who has not been heard from since the conviction of most of his ruling government MPs.
The no-confidence motion is expected to be put to the 53-seat parliament on October 21.
Last Friday, Vanuatu's Supreme Court found the deputy prime minister had made cash payments amounting to 35 million Vatu ($452,000) to his fellow MPs last year, when they were all in opposition.
Justice Mary Sey ruled that the payments were corruptly made by the deputy prime minister, corruptly received, and designed to influence MPs in their capacity as public officials. Source: ABC News, Australia
