Seniloli was appointed vice-president in 2000 as an apparent gesture of appeasement towards the supporters of the 2000 coup which deposed the lawfully elected government of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
In a controversial move, Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale announced on 29 November 2004 that he had decided to release Seniloli from prison on medical grounds, a decision which angered the Labour Party.
"The FLP is outraged by the jailed VP's early release from prison," declared Senator Jokapeci Koroi, the national president of the Labour Party.
Captain Neumi Leweni of the Royal Fiji Military Forces media cell called the early release "an insult to our sense of justice and the rule of law" and a "riot."
Leweni's judgement that Ratu Seniloli's release threatened national security was subsequently backed up by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the Commander of the Armed Forces.
Joji Kotobalavu, a spokesman for Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, rejected the criticism and said that the military had acted improperly by issuing a political statement.