Kiribati constitutional crisis deepens as it detains Australian-born high court justice

Judge David Lambourne was detained after a failed bid to deport him, which he called a devastating assault on the rule of law' in Kiribati

Kiribati is in the midst of a constitutional crisis after its government detained one of its most senior judges, Australian citizen David Lambourne, after a failed attempt to deport him.

Despite an order from the Kiribati court of appeal that Lambourne should not be removed from the country, police and immigration officials sought to forcibly deport him at Bonriki international airport on Thursday.