A group of Nauruans facing criminal charges over a political protest nearly two years ago is seeking international help to pay for overseas legal representation.
The protest was in response to the then year long suspension from parliament of five MPs, including a former president, Sprent Dabwido.
A protest involving hundreds of people was staged in front of the Nauru parliament in June of 2015. Photo: supplied/ Shane Bazzi
The group, in a statement, said proper legal representation from outside of Nauru was necessary because there were no qualified lawyers on the island able to provide the representation they need.
It claimed the Public Defender's office had been seriously compromised and had been told not to assist those fighting the charges.
The defendants have a team of five Australian barristers coming in and the costs of bringing them to Nauru are estimated at $US60,000
The group is seeking support to meet this debt through Crowd Funding.
It said it hoped it would get the backing of fair-minded people or organisations who share their determination to remedy what they called the gross injustices thrust upon them by a dictatorial government.