A national of Samoa, who was prohibited from entering American Samoa while on probation, has been sentenced to serve nearly two years at the Territorial Correctional Facility for violating conditions of his probation.

Fereti Aliva was convicted of felony burglary and sentenced by the High Court in 2010 to 7 years probation, under several conditions, which included that he serve 28 months in prison.

Of the 28 months, he was allowed to serve only six months, while the rest of the jail term was suspended and he was to abide by all conditions of probation, which included not entering or attempting to enter American Samoa during the 7-year probation period.

Any violation of the prohibition to enter the territory, would subject the defendant to serve out the rest of his 28 months jail term, according to the terms of the probation.

The defendant served six months and thereafter was deported back to his home country of Samoa.

However, in September this year, the Probation Office received information that Aliva had entered the territory, after he was taken into custody for a misdemeanor public peace disturbance in the District Court. Thereafter the Probation Office filed a motion to revoke the defendant’s probation because he returned to American Samoa while still on probation.

Last Thursday, the defendant appeared in High Court for sentencing on probation violation and Aliva apologized to the court for not complying with a condition of his probation. He sought leniency so he could return home to care for his family in Samoa and this was also the same request from his attorney, Public Defender Douglas Fiaui, who told the court that based on his conversation with the defendant, it’s Aliva’s understanding and belief that his probation was only for 5 years.

Therefore as far as Aliva is concerned the five-year probation period is over and it’s the reason he entered American Samoa, the defense attorney further argued.

Fiaui then went on to blame the government and the Immigration Office for not doing their job in ensuring that people who are prohibited from entering American Samoa do not.

He argued the Immigration Office’s responsibility is to protect territorial borders. Fiaui also pointed out that this is not the first time this problem of a person prohibited from entering American Samoa as part of their probation has occurred.

He said it’s the duty and responsibility of the government and Immigration Office to be honest in enforcing border control laws to ensure that people, such as Aliva, do not enter the territory while on probation.

Just as Fiaui finished his arguments, and the court was prepared to give the government a chance to argue their case, a cell phone rang inside the court room and Chief Justice Michael Kruse ordered the court marshall to confiscate the phone from the owner, who was a person attending the hearing. The person was told that it would be returned upon paying a $25 fine to the court clerk. (This has been a long-standing policy for the court, when it comes to cell phones, which are banned from inside courtrooms.)

In his argument, assistant attorney general Jerard Murphy asked the court to give the defendant the appropriate sentence after it has been proven that Aliva violated a condition of his probation.

Regarding the defense’s claims that the government and the Immigration Office didn’t do their job in enforcing the law, Murphy said it’s not the government’s duty or responsibility to forcefully stop a person from re-entering the territory.

After all arguments were heard, Kruse sentenced the defendant to serve the remaining 22-months of his 28 months jail sentence, initially handed down in 2010. Additionally, the defendant is to depart the territory upon serving the jail term and not to attempt to enter the territory during the remaining years in his 7-year probation period.

Kruse also ordered Murphy to provide a copy of the court’s decision to the Attorney General as well as the Immigration Office to ensure that everyone follows the court’s order. It was also revealed in court that the defendant uses two other names, or aliases — Fereti Loua and Loua Aliva.

Kruse, who was flanked on the bench by associate judges Fa’amausili Pomele and Tunupopo Faleafaga, directed Murphy to make sure the defendant’s three names are provided to the Immigration Office as well as the Attorney General to ensure that the Immigration Office does not miss any of the three names on their list of individuals prohibited from entering the territory.

(Original Samoan story published Samoa News online over the weekend)