Banged up abroad: Fears for NZ economist detained on ‘trumped-up charges’

New Zealand economist Rob Solomon denies the charges which have landed him in prison on the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) island of Pohnpei.

A New Zealand economist detained in a cramped Micronesian prison cell for more than 10 months on sex and child trafficking allegations is the victim of “trumped-up charges”, according to close friends calling for his immediate release.

Rob Solomon, 61, had been living in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and working as a macroeconomist consultant to the government when he was arrested in December 2021 – and then again last March - on a range of criminal charges including human and child trafficking, kidnapping, and sexual abuse charges.

Pohnpei prosecutors alleged that Solomon, who had been a close adviser to the FSM president, had lured an underage girl to his house or apartment and “engaged in sexual activities for money”.

But his trial has been adjourned and delayed several times while a 17-year-old girl who had made serious sexual allegations against Solomon has since recanted her claims.

For the last 10 months, the Dunedin-born economic adviser has been kept inside a tiny prison cell with limited access to sunlight or the outside world.

Rob Solomon pictured inside his Pohnpei jail cell at Christmas. Photo / Supplied

It’s understood that he has even shared a cramped jail room, sleeping on roll-up mattresses, with a man serving 15 years for murder.

Friends including his local girlfriend have managed to visit the father-of-four behind bars during 15-minute weekly windows. They speak about their concern over his living conditions, along with his mental and physical health.

The friends, along with others close to Solomon back in New Zealand believe he has been wrongly targeted and have campaigned through official governmental channels for his release.

Responding to a series of questions from the Weekend Herald, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that consular officials - believed to include the New Zealand Consulate-General in Honolulu - is aware of Solomon’s situation.

Rob Solomon's prison cell which he shares with another inmate. Photo / Supplied

However, they refused to make any further comment.

“For privacy reasons, we do not comment on individual consular cases,” an Mfat spokeswoman said.

Lloyd Powell met Solomon while working as a consultant in the Cook Islands in 1996. As an economic statistician, Solomon was part of the New Zealand Overseas Development Assistance (NZODA)/Asian Development Bank (ADB) appointed team of consultants associated with the nation’s financial crisis and carried out economic modelling on which the reform work relied.

“He is a very good economic modeller,” Powell said.

Rob Solomon has spent years working as an economic consultant in the Pacific region. Photo / Supplied

They became friends and went on to work together on many projects, most often in the Pacific, and especially in Tonga and the Solomon Islands. Between assignments, Solomon often stayed with him and even used his Wellington address for mail.

Powell says he is “very concerned” about Solomon’s situation, the “human rights issues he is facing”, and what he called a “lack of action” from Mfat.

“Rob would not be involved with sex trafficking,” he said.

He even warned Solomon before his FSM mission about the dangers of working directly for any political person or party.

“I told him that if there was no third-party financier between the consultant and the employer then there is always a high risk that other political parties in the country will use that relationship to attack the employing person/entity ... And so, it would seem to have turned out that way,” Powell said.

FSM is a country spread across the western Pacific Ocean comprising a group of 607 small islands, with the coral-capped volcanic island of Pohnpei being the largest and most populous.

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) island of Pohnpei is the biggest in the sprawling country spread across the western Pacific Ocean. Photo / File

After Solomon’s arrest in December 2021, FSM president David W. Panuelo released a statement.

“I have full faith and confidence in the Pohnpei State Government to conduct its work fairly and appropriately, and I equally have full trust and confidence in the judicial branches at both the National and State levels to fulfil their duties to the highest degree of honour in the search for truth and the delivery of justice.”

Solomon’s original trial date was set down for April 12 last year – but was delayed until September 6.

However, on the first day of the trial, it was postponed after just 45 minutes of the first police witness’ evidence.

And then a month later on the second day of trial, it was postponed after just 50 minutes.

Rob Solomon. Photo / Supplied

Solomon is still waiting in confinement for this hearing to resume.

Speaking to the Weekend Herald from his Pohnpei office, Solomon’s lawyer Martin Jano said his priority now is to “obtain his release from confinement ... ASAP”.

A motion to disqualify the presiding judge over prejudicial concerns has been lodged.

But a move to throw out the cases over what his lawyer calls the FSM regime’s violation of Solomon’s rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations was rejected.

Greg Smith has known Solomon for 46 years and himself worked in the Pacific and South East Asia for many years and “understands how the systems work”.

He believes Solomon must have fallen out of favour somehow and been put away “on trumped-up charges ... to keep him quiet”.

He wrote to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta late last year highlighting his concerns but never heard back.

Solomon’s mother and sister declined to comment when approached by the Herald.

Brendan Toner has managed to visit Solomon in jail.

“He is keeping mentally active by reading books and has been through almost the entire Pohnpei library now,” Toner said.

Friends are calling for his immediate release. Photo / Supplied

“He is only allowed visitors once a week for 15 minutes and is kept in his cell otherwise and rarely gets to go outside.

“I am concerned for his health - both mental and physical - and last time I saw him he was covered in small sores on his arm. He said that they were old scars that had come up because he had not seen sunlight for so long.”

Toner said his mate was getting “very sick and tired” of his situation.

“We are all hoping that he gets out very soon,” he said.