Two SA bikies say ban on them speaking in private is limiting personal liberty

Two outlaw bikies who admit breaking the law by meeting in public say a ban on them speaking in private is limiting their personal liberty.

Two Comanchero bikies have pleaded guilty to breaking the state’s anti-association laws – and asked a court to relax their bail so they can communicate with their friends.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, lawyers for a group of Comanchero members said their clients were burdened with “unnecessarily onerous” bans on speaking to one another that had “limited their liberty”.

They urged the court to lift those conditions, saying the men were not going to “conspire to defeat the cause of justice” if allowed to talk in private.

The six men are: Stefanos Anagnostopolous, 38, of Prospect, Nelson Erneo, 31, of Northgate, Mpoyi Mutanda, Daniel Abrahamson, Lwal Lwal Diing and Wayne Desmond Ericson.

They were arrested after allegedly meeting at a park on Alexandra St, Prospect, in August contrary to the state’s anti-association laws.

Under those laws, members of “declared groups” such as the Comanchero may not publicly associate nor wear the colours of their organisation.

It is alleged that Mr Anagnostopolous is the gang’s commander – a rank equal to the president of rival gangs – and that Mr Erneo is its sergeant-at-arms.

Stefanos Anagnostopolous is allegedly the gang’s commander. Picture: Facebook

On Thursday, Ericson and Abrahamson pleaded guilty to one count each of association.

Andrew Williams, for Abrahamson, said bail conditions banning the duo from communicating with each other in any way should now be lifted.

“What’s the purpose of them not being able to have contact with each other? They are friends,” he said.

“The offence is associating in public – it’s not an offence to talk to each other when they’re not in public.

“There’s no suggestion they can conspire with each other to defeat the cause of justice – there’s just no utility in it.

“It’s just an unnecessarily onerous limitation on their liberty, which ordinary people in the community don’t have to withstand.”

Counsel for Ericson agreed, while counsel for Mr Angastopoulos said his client was soon to be released from custody, having completed a sentence for unrelated offending.

Magistrate John Fahey declined to make the changes sought.

“Until we’ve got a plea from everyone, the bail conditions will stay the same,” he said.

He remanded some of the group in custody, and some on continuing bail, to face court again in December.