Fiji Times Limited, its Editor Fred Wesley and former Publisher Brian O'Flaherty have to pay their fines and costs by the 20th of next month for their charge of contempt of court.
Fiji Times and Wesley also need to arrange for an apology to be directed to the judiciary of Fiji within 28 days.
Fiji Times has been fined $300,000, Wesley has been sentenced to 6 months imprisonment suspended for two years while O'Flaherty has been fined $10,000.
They have to pay $2,000 each in cost to the Attorney General's Office.
This is a contempt of court proceeding where Oceania Football Confederation Secretary, Tai Nicholas made comments about Fiji's judiciary in the Sunday Star Times in New Zealand which was published last November and a day later was reprinted by the Fiji Times.
Justice Callanchini said Fiji Times must accept the ultimate responsibility for the publication of the contempt.
He said the newspaper company cannot hide behind its special position that has been acquired over its many years of publishing in Fiji.
Justice Callanchini said this is the second conviction of contempt of court for Fiji Times as it was fined $100,000 for the first conviction in 2009.
The High Court judge also highlighted that O’Flaherty cannot divest himself of any of his responsibilities by simply saying that he was not at work that day or that the material was published because junior staff or even more senior staff did not follow the system.
Justice Callanchini said Fred Wesley also cannot divest himself of culpability by claiming that he was not at work on the day in question and he must accept responsibility for the failure of his staff who were at work.
The judge highlights that Wesley is directly responsible for the content of each and every edition of the newspaper.
Story by: Vijay Narayan and Praneeta Prakash
