Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

New bid launched to free Flosse from Tahiti jail

Posted at 07:10 on 19 November, 2009 UTC

The lawyer acting for French Polynesia’s veteran politician, Gaston Flosse, has filed a new request for his client to be freed from Tahiti’s Nuutania jail.

He was imprisoned last week, six days after the French Senate leadership agreed to a French justice ministry request to lift his parliamentary immunity.

According to television reports, Mr Quinquis has made a bid to get Mr Flosse out of jail where he is being held on corruption charges dating back to his days as the territory’s president.

This comes just days after he had withdrawn an urgent request to free the 78-year-old Senator and French Polynesian assembly member.

Mr Quinquis had dropped the request saying he trusted a custodial judge in Papeete to keep a promise that Mr Flosse would only be held for two weeks only.

The prosecution, however, has said Mr Flosse can be held for up to four months, and if needed for longer.

He is due to be questioned simultaneously with other suspects in the OPT affair from December the third.