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Fiji's police commissioner has played down the injuries suffered by a New Zealander accused of plotting to assassinate the country's self-appointed leader.
New Zealander Ballu Khan is under army guard in a Suva hospital after being arrested yesterday and, according to diplomats, badly beaten up.
According to Fiji authorities Khan and 15 other people have been arrested for allegedly planning to kill Fiji's coup leader Frank Bainimarama, some members of his cabinet and senior figures in the army.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark had earlier been critical of the treatment of Khan at the hands of Fiji's authorities.
Diplomats who visited Khan in hospital found his face was so badly swollen he was unable to talk.
"He had been surrounded by guards at the hospital at night, including by one who had been part of the assault on him. It's absolutely terrifying. No person should be treated like this," Clark said.
Speaking today Police Commissioner Esala Teleni played down reports of Khan's injuries, saying they were "only minor".
"These injuries were the result of both Mr Khan and his bodyguard resisting arrest and assaulting police officers," Teleni said, according to the Fiji Times website.
Teleni also said police were expected to lay charges within the next few hours in relation to the alleged assassination plot.
- AAP
