Yaren – New Zealand should stop all financial support for Nauru’s justice system, which is going from bad to worse, former Nauru chief justice Geoffrey Eames says.

Three opposition political leaders are fighting criminal charges over a protest outside Parliament last week and another is fighting to be allowed to leave the country and return to New Zealand where he and his family live.

New Zealand country gives almost $900,000 a year to support Nauru’s justice system.

Eames, who was thrown out of Nauru last year by its government, told RNZI’s Checkpoint the island nation’s democracy and its rule of law were “broken”.

He said New Zealand needed to make this clear to Nauru.

“It should not be supporting it. It should be saying this is an absolutely appalling abuse of power. Unless something is done, New Zealand will be propping up a system which is simply unjust.”

Eames said he had been watching the developments there with alarm.

“It all seems to be doing great damage to parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.

“The rule of law has been broken badly now for 14 or 15 months. But it’s terrible to see the situation now is not improving, it’s just getting worse.”

Eames said those facing charges in Nauru did not even have access to a trained lawyer.

He said the opposition MPs facing criminal proceedings will have the odds stacked against them in court.

Sprent Dabwido, Squire Jeremiah and Mathew Batsiua were arrested and charged following protests at parliament last week, which the government has dubbed a riot.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he is deeply concerned about developments in Nauru but says he does not want to put Nauru’s judicial system under any further pressure by pulling aid at this stage.

But Eames said that was a “weak response”.

“It should not be supporting it, it should be saying ‘this is an absolutely appalling abuse of power’. I think the minister has got to make himself so plain to the present government that they accept that a change must occur and unless something is done, well, New Zealand is propping up a system that is simply unjust.”

Eames said the judicial system on the island is so deficient it is unlikely to provide the opposition MPs a fair trial as they won’t have a qualified lawyer.

“All of these complex and difficult criminal proceedings, are all being represented by one person who’s known as a “pleader” – and he’s an extremely intelligent and helpful advocate, but he’s not a trained lawyer and he’s being pitted against trained lawyers in complex law and the government is just stacking the odds against them.”

Nauru’s President, Baron Waqa, said the MPs were ringleaders in a violent protest aimed at toppling a democratically elected government and says there will be due process and fair hearings in court.

Waqa said the arrests have nothing to do with them speaking out against the government.

He says they were the ringleaders of an attempt to topple a democratically elected government in order to further their own thirst for political power.

In a statement Waqa said of most concern are reports that protest organisers got children as young as 12 to participate, and that alcohol was provided to encourage teenagers to attend.

The government has called the protest a riot in which several police were injured.

Waqa has confirmed that some government workers who took part in the protests have lost their jobs but he rejects suggestions this is stifling free speech.

He says the organisers did not advise people that participating in a criminal act would jeopardise their jobs.

He says the MPs have a right to speak freely against the government’s reform measures but they have no right to create violence.

He has accused foreign media of bias, saying the ABC, Radio New Zealand and the Guardian website have an agenda to attack the Nauruan government apparently to influence Australian and New Zealand domestic politics.

Former Nauru magistrate, Australian Peter Law – who was expelled along with chief justice Eames in January last year – said the Pacific Island Forum has a responsibility to respond tot he situation on Nauru.

Law said Nauru was operating effectively as a “parliamentary dictatorship”.

“You can’t ban the opposition indefinitely and decide you’re still a democratic country,” he said.

“You can’t take away freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and try to suggest you’re a democratic country.”

Forum chair Tommy Remengesau released a statement this week calling for Nauru to come to a resolution on its own.

“Patience is critical at this point for due process to take its course and Nauru to come to a peaceful resolution to this matter,” Remengesau said.

Meanwhile, the Nauru Government has revealed it is guaranteed at least US$24 million dollars in visa fees from Australia each year for the next five years.