Pilato Released On Bail

Pilato has today been granted bail after being arrested last Wednesday as he returned from South Africa, where he had been living in self-imposed exile.

He was arrested in September 2017 for taking part in a protest against the government’s purchase of 42 fire engines for about $1m (£740,000) each. He fled to South Africa while on bail.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in February after he failed to appear in court on what human rights group Amnesty International called "trumped up" charges related to the protest.

Despite telling the court last Thursday that he escaped to South Africa for fear of his life, his attempt to get bail failed and he had been in police cells since.