24 Dec 2019

Custodial sentences for Nauru political protestors

From , 6:02 am on 24 December 2019

A group of political protesters on Nauru, convicted of offences that occurred in June 2015, have all been given custodial sentences.

The 12, the remnants of what is known as the Nauru 19, faced charges that included rioting, assault, trespass and wilful damage.

Of the other members of the Nauru 19, three are now seeking asylum in Australia, three pleaded guilty earlier and one, former Nauru president Sprent Dabwido, died of cancer after the government delayed the treatment he needed. 

The group had been protesting the removal of the judiciary by the government in 2014 and the indefinite suspension from parliament of most of the opposition because they had had the temerity to speak with the overseas media.

Australian barrister Stephen Lawrence, who has represented the Nauru 19 in the past, told Don Wiseman more about the sentences.

T-shirts worn by family and supporters of the 19 Nauruans who were prosecuted by government for staging a protest outside of parliament in 2015.

T-shirts worn by family and supporters of the 19 Nauruans who were prosecuted by government for staging a protest outside of parliament in 2015. Photo: Nauru 19/ Facebook