Wellington - Lawyers defending seven Pitcairn Islands men against a string of sex charges have been granted the right to challenge the trial process before Britain's highest appellate court, British authorities said on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Richard Fell, the British High Commissioner in the New Zealand capital of Wellington, who is also governor of Pitcairn, confirmed the Privy Council decision but said authorities still were trying to clarify its "full implications."
"It is unknown what the extent of the appeal might be and how it will affect the trials and their outcomes," spokesperson Bryan Nicolson said.
Earlier, an islander attending the trials said the Privy Council had granted the defense a chance to challenge the validity and legality of Britain's jurisdiction over the islands. The hearing "will begin sometime mid-next year," the islander said.
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| Two islanders have pleaded guilty to sex abuse but have not been sentenced |
Previous appeals by defense lawyers against Britain's jurisdiction over its last remaining territory in the Pacific have been rejected.
Australia's Sky TV also reported the development, saying the London-based Privy Council had granted an application by the men's defense lawyers to appeal against British jurisdiction over the islands.
Sky said lawyers argue that Pitcairn islanders arrived on the island in the 18th century as pirates after their mutiny on the British ship Bounty and therefore renounced all claims to British citizenship.
Sky reported that the trials will continue, but the Privy Council ruling opens the way for any convictions to be quashed.
Media on the island reported that the current trials, which involve 55 charges of rape, and sexual assaults, were proceeding as scheduled.
The cases against several defendants, including the island's mayor, have been heard over the past two weeks, but no judgments have been issued. Two islanders have pleaded guilty to sex abuse but have not been sentenced.
The trials follow investigations by British and New Zealand police into allegations island men have sex with underage girls, in one case a child of three years.
One alleged victim, testifying by videolink to two courts set up in Pitcairn's community hall, said men on the island, which has a population of just 47, treated girls and young women like a "harem." - Sapa-AP
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