Transcript
A former professional weightlifter, Sprent Dabwido, entered politics and became the president of Nauru -- the world's smallest republic, with a population of just 11,000 - in 2011.
A year later, he agreed with Australia's then-prime minister Julia Gillard to reopen an asylum seeker detention centre in the impoverished country.
Hundreds of refugees - including children - languished for years in conditions described by the United Nations as inhumane.
In his dying days, Mr Dabwido told Australia's SBS he regretted the decision, saying it turned the country upside down.
Sprent Dabwido's final days were consumed by a battle with the current government of President Baron Waqa, a battle which drained him both financially and personally.
Mr Dabwido was one of the Nauru 19 group of opposition figures who've been hauled through the courts after a crackdown on anti-government protests in 2015.
The protest was in response to the banning of three MPs from parliament after they criticised Mr Waqa's government in the foreign media, including in interviews with RNZ Pacific.
Last year, a judge described the Nauru government's actions as a "shameful affront to the rule of law."
A close friend and fellow Nauru 19 member, Mathew Batsiua, says Mr Dabwido stood strong despite the pressure.
Earlier this year, Mr Dabwido sought asylum in Australia, claiming Mr Waqa's government had gone out of its way to prevent him froom accessing specialist cancer care.
Mathew Batsiua says the government has blood on its hands.
The government has rejected that claim.
Sprent Dabwido is survived by his wife Lucinda, who he married in a ceremony shortly before his death.
