Now living in Melbourne, Squire Jeremiah is a long way from home.
The former MP was forced to flee his home country of Nauru after a judge ordered he again stand trial over a protest outside its parliament in 2015.
The case, known as the Nauru 19, saw 19 MPs and their supporters charged over the anti-government action which authorities allege turned into a riot.
“I won't be given a fair trial, we won't be given our constitutional right to a fair trial,” Mr Jeremiah told SBS News this week.
Former MPs and their supporters who took part in the protest when they were first charged in 2015. Source: Supplied
Since fleeing to Australia he has been granted political asylum.
The charges were initially thrown out by an Australian judge who was then Nauru’s chief justice. He was sacked and replaced by a judge from Fiji who ordered the trial to begin on Thursday.
Stephen Lawrence, the former lawyer for the group, says they haven't been given legal representation to face their retrial.
“What we have seen is the complete collapse of the Nauruan justice system. The courts are completely incapable of dealing independently with a politically charged matter,” he said.
Nauru's controversial president Baron Waqa stood down in August but human rights activists, including Amnesty International's Tim O'Connor, say that hasn't necessarily led to a positive change.
The island of Nauru. Source: Getty Images
“The current president [Lionel Aingimea] was a member of the former government who had taken many steps to ensure there was no proper process of these people who are facing very serious charges,” he said.
Amnesty International says the group has little chance of receiving a fair trial and has called on the Australian government to speak out on its behalf.
But Mr O'Connor says he isn't optimistic.
“The Australian government has its hands tied here, it's chosen to use Nauru as a client state to lock up refugees since 2013,” he said.
China has issued a UN statement calling on Australia to close its offshore detention centres. Source: AAP
Australia gives Nauru tens of millions of dollars each year to detain asylum seekers and refugees who have tried to come to Australia by boat.
The Nauruan government did not respond to SBS News's request for a comment on the Nauru 19 case.
