Lynda Tabuya Photo: Facebook / Lynda Tabuya
Fijian MP Lynda Tabuya is blaming the "attackers" who leaked a lurid private video of her dancing naked.
Tabuya spoke out at a Safer Internet Day event on Wednesday, saying their "sole purpose was to humiliate and defame" her.
RNZ Pacific has attempted to contact Tabuya for an interview multiple times, but with no success.
"The attackers sole purpose was to crucify me, morally judge me, character assassinate me, label me all sorts of unsavoury and demeaning names, to lose the faith of all those who voted for me, to lose my job as a minister, to lose my position as an MP and to lose my membership in my political party," was was quoted as saying by Fijivillage.com
"Critics focussed on moral arguments, asking questions, why did I make the video in the first place, or why did I not take measures to protect it?
"But such debates often reveal a generational, digital divide, where older generations have different moral perspectives compared to the younger generation," she said.
"However, from a legal standpoint, these personal choices cannot justify the illegal act of distribution private content without consent," she said.
She called for stronger legal frameworks and international cooperation to combat cyberbully and protect online privacy.
Fiji's cybercrime laws were inefficient and it took weeks to remove harmful content in her case, she said.
She urged authorities to push for regulations that mandate the removal of such content within 24 to 48 hours.
Sharing private content without consent was a crime under Section 24 of the Online Safety Act with severe penalties, including fines and imprisonment, she said.
Tabuya has always maintained her phone was stolen and hacked and last week threatened to sue the editor of FijiLeaks, Victor Lal.
The veteran journalist told RNZ Pacific that he will countersue, because claims he was behind the leak are libellous.
"I never leaked that video, I never put it online and I stand by that," he said.
"I opted to send it to the Prime Minister to investigate, as well as other high-ranking members of government."
Lal said he also sent a copy to deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica, who co-chaired the coalition's Anti-PornTaskforce with Tabuya.
FijiLeaks did, however, run some murky screenshots from the video of her prancing naked.
"Who was the person in the room who filmed the video, with a soccer game blaring in the background?" he said.
He questions whether Tabuya had reported her phone had been stolen before the video went viral.
"The police need to interview her, it's up to them to establish who stole the phone, who hacked it, who took the video, where it was shot and who leaked it."
The explicit cip went viral in December, prompting the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to dump her from his Cabinet on 26 December.
The former minister for women, children and social protection lodged a complaint with the police cybercrime unit on the grounds she was the victim of vicious cyberbullying.
Last week the People's Alliance Party decided not to expel Tabuya, "in the spirit of second chances", partly due to her popularity among young voters.
A former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, claimed Rabuka is the only reason she is still an MP.
"Her popularity with the public must have diminished. But it it seems he (Rabuka) has a soft spot for her and that is how the party functions," he said,
"The party was split, there were women and older members who didn't want her there. I'm told the Prime Minister directed that she be given a second chance and its because of that that she's still there."
Tabuya said the leak had been traumatic not only for her but for her extended family and friends.
The police have now identified two suspects following an investigation into the leaked video.
