A pensioner on Nauru who had her fortnightly benefit stripped because she attended an anti-government protest in June says she will struggle without the payment.
A letter sent to a member of the public by the Nauru government Photo: SUPPLIED
64-year-old Rosavena Bop says she received a letter signed by the finance minister, David Adeang, saying she would no longer receive her $200 payment.
The letter says Cabinet made the decision last week that people involved in protests, riots and other "criminal" activities would stop receiving government priviliges.
But Ms Bop says she was never arrested or charged for attending the protest, and the decision to cancel her pension came as a complete surprise.
"We need it because we don't have any income. So I'm totally dependent on the $200 for the elderly for my having toilet paper, milk."
Rosavena Bop says she knows of at least two other people who have also had their pensions stopped.
The protest outside parliament in June. Photo: supplied/ Shane Bazzi