Daniel Kim’s bail condition to prohibit him from leaving Fiji

After being held in immigration custody for about a year and three months, Grace Road Fiji President Daniel Kim and Sun Jin Lee have been granted bail by the Lautoka High Court under the condition that they are not to leave the country.

They were declared prohibited immigrants by the Fijian Government and it has been made clear through government statements released that the government acted after the decisions by the South Korean Government and the request by Interpol.

Kim and Lee are two of 6 applicants who have sought judicial review of this decision of Minister for Immigration and of the Permanent Secretary of Immigration on the 31st of August last year.

The decision on their application for a judicial review will be delivered on the 28th of January, next year.

Their bail conditions state that a stop departure order be issued and be prohibited from leaving from any port of entry or exit, surrendering any travel documents, attend court as and when required and abide by the laws of Fiji.

They are prohibited from making press conferences and interviews in relation to this specific case in hand.

Other conditions are that they remain resided at the Grace Farm in Navua, provide two common sureties (Aca Rayawa and Bobby Raniga).

It was noted in the Lautoka High Court that neither Kim nor Lee have ever been charged or convicted of any crime in Fiji and to the best to the knowledge of the presiding Judge, elsewhere in the world.

The Court also noted that the stay on the decision of the Minister and and the Permanent Secretary does not quash or set aside the Minister’s decision and if it did, the Court would be usurping that executive power.

The bail ruling states that for the time being, the Court accepts that Lee and Kim are, technically, still prohibited immigrants.

It also states that the stay restrains the Permanent Secretary from actually affecting their removal and together with the fact that their court cases are likely to be appealed right up to the Supreme Court, would thereby remove any element of immediacy.

It states that as such, in the Court’s view, the Permanent Secretary can no longer justify Kim and Lee’s continuing detention under the Constitution and they are not alleged to be involved in any terrorist activity in Fiji or elsewhere in the world.

The Court is also of the view that the purported security threat which Kim and Lee pose does not justify their continued detention and nor are they facing or have been convicted of any serious charge in Fiji or abroad so accordingly, there should be no reason why they should be continued to be detained.

The matter has been adjourned to next Thursday.