HONIARA, Solomon Islands -- A man wanted in Australia on child rape charges has been sworn in as the Solomon Islands' attorney general.
Julian Moti, a Sydney-educated lawyer, is wanted in connection with seven charges involving the assault of a 13-year-old girl in Brisbane in 1998, The Australian newspaper reported Wednesday.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he wasn't happy with the Solomons' decision to ignore Australia's extradition request.
"It is a very provocative and insensitive thing for somebody who is wanted on a criminal charge in this country to be sworn in as the attorney general," Howard said in The Australian.
At Moti's swearing-in ceremony, he claimed he was innocent of the rape charges, which he said had been "trumped up" against him, the report said.
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