Rugby union chairman cleared of sedition

Tonga Rugby Union chairman Sangster Saulala has been cleared of a sedition charge that followed the South Pacific country's deadly riots in November 2006.

Chief Justice Anthony Ford dismissed four charges against Saulala after the Government failed to provide sufficient evidence in their case against him.

The charges included sedition, unlawful assembly and riot.

Saulala was the manager and main presenter of Tonga's Oceania Broadcasting Network (OBN), scene of a protest march which preceded the riots, which saw most of the businesses in Nuku'alofa destroyed.

Eight people died in fires started by rioters and looters.

"This is a triumph for the people and their outcry under oppression from a dictatorship," Saulala told the Tonga Star after the charges were dropped.

- NZPA