The public prosecutor's office in French Polynesia has taken issue with comments made against the judiciary which it says could amount to attempts of misinformation or pressure.
Gaston Flosse Photo: AFP
The statement was issued after last week's trial of a former president Gaston Flosse over the 2014 theft of $US70,000 worth of chinaware.
His defence lawyers, who included his son-in-law, have claimed that their client is being hounded amid a fixation to sever his links with his voters.
The prosecutor took Flosse to the appeal court because he wasn't given a custodial sentence in the criminal court last year, also asking the court to make him ineligible for public office for five years.
The prosecutor says such a sentence is warranted to stop degrading democracy and to show corruption cannot to be tolerated with impunity.
A ruling is expected on 23 March.
Flosse, who lost the presidency because of a corruption conviction in September 2014, is already banned from holding public office until 2019 although he challenged the decision, claiming he is eligible to stand again next year.