Minister for Fisheries, Semi Koroilavesau has now deleted a Facebook post he put up about convicted rapist Amenoni Nasilasila, days after he told Fijivillage it was his personal view and must not be construed as the opinion of the government or the FijiFirst Party.
He deleted the widely shared Facebook post yesterday after continued criticism.
Koroilavesau made the post on Facebook on the 31st of last month.
In that post, Koroilavesau said Nasilasila is still in the Correctional Facility and under the direct supervision of that institution.
He also said he believes the region needs to be more worried about other important matters that is Rugby.
Koroilavesau further said Nasilasila is serving time and the Fiji Corrections Service is better equipped to deal with their issues.
He said he does not expect the Fiji Corrections Service to talk about Regional Rugby as they are not equipped to deal with the issue.
Last week, Koroilavesau had told Fijivillage that he is expressing his personal views in that post on Facebook.
Koroilavesau also said he only expressed that he supports the Yellow Ribbon Program and giving people a second chance.
Koroilavesau had directed these comments towards a statement by Oceania Rugby which was extremely disappointed that Nasilasila was connected with an unofficial Oceania 7s scrimmage session between the Warden 7s team and the Tuvalu 7s team.
Nasilasila took part in this scrimmage session only five days after being sentenced to 8 years imprisonment by the Lautoka High Court.
Fiji women's rights groups say these actions by the Fiji Corrections Service send a dangerous message to the public that perpetrators of sexual violence will not be held to account, especially when they have national sporting achievements.
They say Nasilasila has not even started serving his sentence and it is horrific for the victim/survivor and any victims in this country, who have or have not reported their issues, to see a perpetrator being praised for his help in sports.
The Fiji Corrections Service has since said that Nasilasila is now undergoing the relevant rehabilitation program.
Director of Rehabilitation Senior Superintendent Salote Panapasa has made it clear that once Nasilasila undergoes all the relevant treatment programs then they will commence his reintegration process.
She confirms that appropriate measures have also been addressed internally at Corrections Service to ensure proper processes are followed.
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