YAREN – A Nauruan opposition MP has been forcibly removed from an aircraft and prevented from leaving the country a week after he gave a controversial interview to the ABC.

Roland Kun – who has held justice and finance portfolios in former governmenrs – is one of the five Nauruan opposition MPs who have been suspended indefinitely from parliament.

He lives in Wellington, New Zealand, because the visa of his Australian wife was cancelled by Nauru last year. He travels to Nauru to attend to parliamentary business, which he did last Sunday.

After this week’s session of parliament was suspended due to protests, Kun boarded a flight in Nauru on Wednesday to return to his family in New Zealand.

But before take-off, officials from Nauru’s justice department delayed the aircraft’s departure, boarded the flight and removed him from the plane.

They informed him that his passport had been cancelled.

Kun said his passport is valid until October next year. “I have not been charged with anything. I do not know what they are proposing to do.”

Kun is now effectively unable to leave Nauru to return to his wife and three children, the ABC reports.

He said he was given no reason for the action.

“I’m very frustrated and very upset about the whole situation because I’m the full time gatekeeper for my young family. I’ve got a child of 18 months old,” he said.

Kun said the government has taken his freedom away.

“I’m a bit blown away with the extent the government has gone to basically take away my rights to freedom of movement here,” he said.

“It’s very concerning the situation we’re looking at – just another show of the lack of respect for rule of law here on Nauru at the hands of Waqa government.”

Last week Kun was interviewed by the ABC’s 7.30 programme, speaking out against the recent crackdown on free speech in Nauru.

The programme also detailed corruption claims against Nauru’s president, Baron Waqa, and justice minister, David Adeang.

On Tuesday, hundreds of Nauruans protested outside the country’s parliament.

They called on Waqa and Adeang to resign amid violent scuffles that broke out with Nauruan police.

Kun said another Nauruan citizen, business owner Lockley Denuga, has been arrested for giving interviews to the foreign media about the protest.

During Tuesday’s demonstration, opposition MP Mathew Batsiua was also arrested.

Kun said he was in no way involved in the protest.

“I was not involved in that protest, and I suppose that that frustrated them because they would have been hoping that I’d be in the protest so that they can throw me in prison as they have done with Mathew Batsiua,” he said.

Kun said the Nauru government had already denied his family access to Nauru by refusing his Australian-born wife a visa.

“I have a young family. I have an 18 month old child. They know that I am the full time caregiver in the period that we are being held in exile and they are now denying me access to my family by not allowing me out of the island. And I can only imagine that their motivation is to put my family in difficulty,” he said.

“When I arrived in the country on Sunday it was raised to me that I was still on an old passport and Nauru had moved to electronic passports. And I told them that I was aware of that, I have been travelling on that same passport, and I had never had an issue with other jurisdictions.

“But on the following day I did lodge an application for passport renewal. That application was rejected by the same secretary for justice who has purported to cancel by current passport.

“I’m very frustrated, I am very saddened by this situation. My family were expecting me back with them by tonight in Wellington and obviously I’m not going to be with my family.

“The next flight out of Nauru is Friday and I’m not even sure whether I would be able to sort out my passport by Friday given they have already rejected my earlier application for a passport and for passport renewal, and they’ve cancelled my current and last passport.

“As far as I know there are no legal grounds for them to refuse me a passport, but then the Waqa government is not known for observing law. So as disapointed as I am, I am not actually surprised they go to this extent.”

Kun stood for president in 2013 against government nominee Baron Waqa. He was defeated 13 to 5 by Waqa and now sits in opposition.

He is also an expert on fisheries, one of Nauru’s main industries. His father, Ruben Kun, served as president of Nauru and was a MP for 26 years.

Media attempts to get comment from the Nauru government on the current situation have so far been unsuccessful.