Former Lautoka lawyer, Aman Ravindra-Singh, yesterday broke his silence on why he fled the country before he was handed a prison sentence by the Civil High Court for contempt of court.

Speaking during an interview with talkback show host Sashi Singh in Sydney he said he escaped because of political persecution as a human rights advocate.

He claimed early this month his three guard dogs in Lautoka were poisoned to death. This was followed by death threats, he alleged.

On August 16, High Court Judge Justice Jude Nanayakkara handed Ravindra-Singh a custodial term of 10 months imprisonment in absentia.

A bench warrant for his arrest was issued. Ravindra Singh told Sashi Singh he was not surprised.

“I went through a lot, and if I take my time and try to explain each and every event that had occurred, I would keep the listener much longer,” he said.

“In my human rights work, in my defence of advocating for human rights, standing up for anyone and everyone whenever there is a breach of human rights in my country, it’s really costly.”

“I’ve never become the subject of matters, I’ve always been in the background fighting a good fight.”

He also claimed that he had been receiving death threats.

“I’ve been receiving reports, I’ve been facing a lot of harassment, intimidation but this has happened for the last 10 years.”

“Ravindra-Singh made it very clear that he was not in a hurry to return to Fiji.”

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