Fiji coup leader Mr George Speight and 12 associates appeared in court today for a committal hearing to decide if they should stand trial for treason.
The former businessman does not deny his role in toppling the South Pacific nation's former government but says a deal reached with the military guaranteed him immunity from prosecution, his lawyer said.
Treason carries a maximum penalty of death in the former British colony, but capital sentences are generally commuted to life.
Outside the court, where about 300 Speight supporters were gathered, lawyer Mr Kitione Vuetaki said Mr Speight had no regrets about storming parliament on May 19th last year and taking former prime minster Mr Mahendra Chaudhry and most of his cabinet hostage in the name of indigenous Fijian rights.
Mr Chaudhry, Fiji's first ethnic Indian leader, was held hostage for 56 days before he was released as part of a deal reached by the military and Mr Speight that reportedly guaranteed Mr Speight's nationalists immunity from prosecution.
Mr Speight was arrested in a military crackdown against the rebels not long after the release of the hostages.
The military said it arrested Mr Speight and his core supporters because they refused to hand over all their weapons in breach of a key point of the immunity deal.