Peter Ridgway is an Australian prosecutor and a former Deputy Director of Prosecutions in Fiji who was expelled from the country by the Qarase government in 2005.
[1] As Deputy Director of Prosecutions Ridgeway was responsible for investigating alleged links between members of the government and the 2000 Fijian coup d'état.
[2] He strongly criticized the government's early release of coup convicts,[3] and the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill which he interpreted as a legal mechanism for pardoning individuals convicted of participating in the coup.
[4] Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase subsequently blocked a move to reinstate him,[5][6] and in June 2005 he was expelled from Fiji on 24 hours notice.
[7][8] Ridgeway subsequently accused the government of interfering with the course of justice by intervening in a number of coup-related trials.