Tongan pro-democracy MP and publisher 'Akilisi Pohiva and two newspaper editors have walked free after the Supreme Court ruled that they had been detained illegally.
Chief Justice Nigel Hampton ordered Pohiva, publisher of the controversial newsletter Kele'a, and Tongan Times newspaper editor Kalafi Moala and deputy editor Filokalafi 'Akau'ola, to be set free on October 14.
New Zealand civil rights lawyer Barry Wilson, acting for the Commonwealth Press Union, tonight told Asia-Pacific Network from Nuku'alofa that their release was encouraging for emerging democratic freedoms in the kingdom.
"The court found that the three had not been covered by the normal safeguards for a trial provided under the constitution," he said.
Wilson successfully filed a writ of habeas corpus last Friday after two earlier attempts had failed.
Amnesty International had declared the three political prisoners and international media freedom groups, and human rights movements had mounted several appeals for their release.
A petition organised by the the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism and Pacific Media Watch and signed by more than 170 academics, journalists, media commentators and students was faxed to King Taufa'ahau Tupou on Friday seeking his intervention to free the men.
Wilson said: "I'm also not happy with the jail conditions under which the men were being held."
He implied that they were being treated differently as political prisoners.
Pohiva had been jailed for contempt of Parliament for 30 days on September 20 after having leaked an impeachment notice against Justice Minister Tevita Tupou.
Moala and 'Akau'ola were jailed for publishing the leaked document in a front-page story in the Taimi 'o Tonga on September 4.
The court found that constitutional provisions such as Clause 10 for trials and sentencing under law, and Clause 11 providing for indictments, defence procedures and the right to call witnesses were breached.
It also found that the three men had not been correctly found guilty by the Legislative Assembly of the offence they were accused of Under Clause 70 of the constitution.
The Tongan government defended its the parliamentary action, saying the journalists broke the law and should be accountable.
Earlier, Kalafi Moala had challenged the Parliament over the "historical trial", claiming the three men were given a prejudiced hearing in the Legislative Assembly.
In an article in the Tongan Times headlined "We didn't get a fair trial", Moala defended his paper's action in publishing an untabled motion seeking the impeachment of Justice Minister Tevita Tupou for allegedly going to the Atlanta Olympics and being paid full parliamentary allowances.
The impeachment notice was tabled in the Assembly the following week after Pohiva, Moala and 'Akau'ola, were jailed. But the House has since been suspended until the middle of next year.
'Akau'ola had earlier been detained in February for 26 hours because of a letter published in the Tongan Times alleged to have "angered" Police Minister Clive Edwards.
"We firmly believe we didn't do anything wrong," said Mr Moala. "What we published was factual and truthful. It is true that the people's representatives had already signed a petition calling for the impeachment of the Justice Minister because he travelled to the Olympics even though his request for leave was refused."
Moala said it was also true that the motion had been registered and placed in the deputy speaker's files so had been already in the parliamentary process.
"This newspaper only reported that the petition had been submitted, the allegations of the petition, and who were the MPs who had signed it."
In a separate article, Pohiva said the Justice Minister, who had filed contempt charges against them, should not have been allowed to participate in the parliamentary "jury that found us guilty".
A government statement denied speculation that Parliament had been suspended to prevent debate on the impeachment motion until next year, but admitted some MPs had expressed "surprise and disappointment" over the move.
David Robie is a journalist and lecturer in journalism at the University of Papua New Guinea. He is currently attached with the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism on a media research program. 