Family of prisoner Anthony John Smith speak out as hunger strike enters day four

The family of a notorious South Australian armed robber who is refusing to eat after a prison transfer, claims he is being held in inhumane conditions.

Anthony John Smith prison mugshot in 2024. Picture: Supplied

The family of a notorious South Australian armed robber are concerned about his health as his hunger strike continues following a transfer to a regional prison on Friday.

Anthony John Smith, who has served 24 years of a 30-year sentence, has entered the fourth day of his hunger strike after he was transferred to Port Augusta Prison on Wednesday.

The inmate who was previously incarcerated at Yatala Labour Prison and is striking in protest of the transfer claiming its taken him too far away from his family.

Smith committed multiple armed robberies in 1999 and 2000 after he escaped custody, which included robbing the Buckingham Arms hotel at Walkerville as a teenager before becoming South Australia’s most wanted man after fleeing custody.

His cousin, Elisha Douglas told the Advertiser she believed he was made an example of by the Department for Correction due to the crimes he committed.

“He’s been incarcerated since he was a 19-year-old teenager and he’s now a 44-year-old man. And he’s had to endure inhumane conditions and systematic racism,” she said.

“He’s been in maximum security for most of the time he has been in there and when not, he’s been in solitary confinement for at least seven years.

“I feel like that system is trying to make an example out of him. The crimes he committed was when he was a 19-year-old teenager and he is not the same man.”

In September 2021, Smith lost a bid for parole, having completed his 18-year non-parole period.

The Supreme Court has also ordered Smith – infamous for his many attempts to escape the state’s jails – to repay all taxpayer funds spent blocking his latest attempt to secure parole.

The Department for Correctional Services was contacted for comment but said as it was unable to disclose information on an individual prisoner.