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FIJI'S top prosecutor is resisting calls to step down from an Australian tourist's gay sex case after complaints about an email he sent condemning homosexuality.
Victorian Thomas McCosker is appealing against a two-year jail sentence he received last month for having sexual relations with Fiji man Dhirendra Nadan under the Pacific nation's tough but rarely enforced homosexual laws.
A lawyer representing Nadan, who was given the same sentence, yesterday revealed an email written by Director of Public Prosecutions Josaia Naigulevu in which he called on church friends to take a public stand against gay sex.
"The prospect of legalising homosexuality in Fiji is no longer remote" because of international and domestic pressure, Naigulevu said in the email.
"The challenge is to take a stand for righteousness and boldly declare and uphold God's precepts, values and principles against homosexuality."
Lawyer Natasha Khan said the email showed Naigulevu was biased and should stand aside from the appeal.
"This is a clear dereliction of a fair and impartial prosecutor's responsibility," she said.
Khan said the email was an attempt to influence the appeal and represented an attack on the justice system.
Naigulevu said he was disappointed a private email about his religious beliefs was being used against him.
But he said the beliefs were "in direct alignment with the current state of law in Fiji".
Fiji Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale told a radio station today he welcomed and supported Naigulevu's views.
McCosker and Nadan are free on bail while their appeal is being heard in the Lautoka High Court.
Lawyers for the men argue their convictions were unconstitutional, their trial unfair and the judge prejudiced.
Fiji's gay community has reported an increase in attacks on homosexuals following media coverage of the case.