of the offence committed. He also said that as a traditional leader of the Fijian people, Tora was obliged to set a good example, which he had failed to do during the 2000 crisis. "Those with the authority to lead have an obligation to lead in the right direction and not to encourage others to break the law," Connors said. State lawyer Samuela Qica had told the court the previous day that the maximum sentence for unlawful assembly was twelve months. Lawyer Iqbal Khan applied for bail, pending an appeal against Tora's conviction, but Justice Connors refused the application on 28 September. On 1 October, Khan lodged an appeal against the refusal with the Court of Appeal, citing the ill health of Tora and two of his co-accused. Despite his imprisonment, Tora remained on the Parliamentary payroll, however, as a prison sentence of less than 12 months did not automatically cause him to forfeit his seat. If he missed two consecutive sessions, however, his political fate would be in the hands of Senate President Taito Waqavakatoga, who was empowered to declare his seat vacant for his nonattendance. On 29 September, Prisons Commissioner Aisea Taoka said that owing to his age and the state of his health, Tora would not be made to do any work at Natabua Prison, where he was being held. Parole granted Lawyer Iqbal Khan announced on 14 October that he had filed an application on Tora's behalf for him to be released on a compulsory supervision order (CSO). Whether to grant the request is at the discretion of the Minister for Justice. On 18 November it was announced that the CSO had been granted on health grounds and that Tora had been released to serve the remainder of his sentence extramurally. Tora's release was strongly criticised by Military spokesman Captain Neumi Leweni. Citing previous instances of persons convicted and imprisoned on coup-related charges being released ahead of time, Leweni said that Tora's parole had all the appearances of history repeating itself. He said the release raised unspecified "national security" concerns, and also questioned the timing, which coincided with the discovery that Fijian agents, former Military personnel, had been involved in illegally arming and training a militia on the island of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea. Such revelations showed that "undercurrents" of the 2000 events were still alive, he asserted. Opposition Leader Mahendra Chaudhry, however, defended the