Attorney General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga has accused Fiji Sun of making baseless and misleading claims on an article that was published by Fiji Sun yesterday, and the Office of the Attorney General will be lodging a complaint to the Fiji Media Council in due course.
Turaga says that he would like to highlight that he was not given enough time to respond to the allegations against him before the article was published.
He says his input was not sought, resulting in a one-sided article that goes against the principle of fair journalism.
The Attorney General alleges Fiji Sun took a story on social media without bothering to get any verifications from him.
He adds that he has sought legal advice and has engaged the services of Law Naivalu, who will now handle any inquiries or questions regarding the claims on his behalf.
The Minister for Justice claims that the complainant was never at any point his client and stresses that the role of journalists is to publish fair, balanced and accurate news articles.
The Attorney General also revealed that he and his family were unfairly targeted with comments and baseless accusations last month, and unfortunately, these claims are part of a deliberate effort to undermine his integrity and the Coalition Government's reputation.
He says that it is also disheartening to see public officials undermined this way and such personal attacks distract the public from the real issues and create a climate of distrust.
He urges the media to think about the impact of their reporting and strive for fairness and accuracy.
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police – Crime, Mesake Waqa says Police investigations are ongoing.
We are currently trying to get comments from Fiji Sun.
