KEY POINTS:
A lawyer prevented from leaving Fiji by the country's administration has branded the move pathetic and unconstitutional.
Former electoral commissioner Graham Leung was due to go to Wellington to take part in a panel discussion on Fiji organised by the Pacific Cooperation Foundation this morning.
"I fronted up to the check-in counter, got my boarding pass, sat and had a cup of coffee and proceeded to the boarding area.
"But at that point the person manning the computer said: "Oh look your name has popped up on a black list and you can't leave"," Mr Leung said.
He was escorted out of the boarding area. He said he had not been given a reason as to why he could not leave and still had his passport.
Mr Leung has filed an order in the High Court of Fiji to quash the government's order and said he had faith in the independence of the judiciary.
He said a speech he gave in Hong Kong on the rule of law in Fiji last month had "disappointed people in the administration".
But he would not stop speaking out against the government.
"Because of my training as a lawyer it equips me with the skills of doing this. I have these luxuries and they come with an added sense of responsibility," Mr Leung said.
When asked if he was concerned for his safety, Mr Leung said: "One is always apprehensive. When there's been a military coup, you never exclude any possibility."
Mr Leung is not alone in being barred from travelling overseas. He said a Human Rights Commissioner was stopped from travelling to Brisbane to talk about women's rights last night.
Pacific Cooperation Foundation director Vince McBride said he had spoken to the head of the Prime Minister's department to lift the ban but was unsuccessful.
Mr McBride said diplomats, New Zealand government officials and members of the public will be attending the panel discussion that will look at the possibility of democratic elections in Fiji.
Mr Leung hoped he would still be able to travel to New Zealand.
"I was going to watch the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday and watch the Wallabies give the All Blacks a hiding - I'm being needlessly provocative.
"I'm booked to come, so the court action could be a defining event," Mr Leung said.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama's office could not be contacted for comment.
