Alleged bikie gang member Saleh Atasoy released on bail on kidnap and torture charges

An alleged bikie accused of dressing as a police officer and kidnapping and torturing a businessman and his model girlfriend at Ipswich in 2019, has been released on bail following an “unfair trial”.

A Supreme Court judge has released an alleged bikie accused of serious charges stemming from an alleged shocking home invasion in 2019, from jail on remand after it was found he was being denied access to his brief of evidence.

According to court documents the Crown’s case was deemed by Supreme Court Justice Paul Freeburn to have had very little evidence. All of the co-accused are contesting the charges.

Nathan John Miller, Mark Clinton Atta-Singh, Jordan Roman Brennan, Saleh Atasoy, Justin John Kuhner and Brodie Jeet Singh were charged over the alleged kidnapping of businessman Eduardus Groenewegen and his model girlfriend, Caroll Dufailly, in October 2019 at Ipswich.

All of the other co-accused had been granted bail while Mr Atasoy remained locked up on remand until the Supreme Court ruling earlier this month.

Ipswich Magistrates Court previously heard police alleged the pair was restrained and forced into a white van before being tortured for information about a safe in Mr Groenewegen’s possession.

A Supreme Court judge has released alleged bikie Saleh Atasoy on bail. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Penny Stephens

The six men are facing a raft of serious charges including torture, kidnapping, administering poison, extortion, robbery, and deprivation of liberty.

Police alleged members of the group were dressed as police when they allegedly stormed the couple’s Raceview home on October 25, 2019.

It is alleged the intruders restrained Mr Groenewegen and Ms Dufailly with duct tape and zip ties before forcing them into a white van, repeatedly demanding the code to a safe.

Police alleged the pair was driven around for hours and tortured before being left in nearby bushland.

The court was previously told the men were alleged to be members or associates of the Lone Wolves outlaw bikie gang.

However, according to court documents the crown has little evidence for the charges, with the main evidence being mobile phone towers receiving signals from the phones of all six men who were in the area at the time of the alleged offences.

On July 13, 2022, Brisbane Supreme Court Justice Paul Freeburn granted Mr Atasoy bail while he awaited trial for the three groups of serious charges, including the kidnapping and torture charges.

Mr Atasoy allegedly trafficked methylamphetamine for roughly three months between October, 21, 2019 and January, 18, 2020. He also was allegedly found in possession of cocaine on February, 11, 2020. These charges are the subject of an indictment brought in the Supreme Court.

According to the court documents, after unsuccessfully applying for bail on April 2, 2020 and December 13, 2021, Atasoy’s most recent bail application revealed he’d been denied access to the prosecution brief of evidence while in prison creating an ‘unfair trial’.

Mr Atasoy has been remanded in custody at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre in North Queensland, away from his wife and three young children who live in Brisbane.

In his affidavit Mr Atasoy said he did not have access to his brief of evidence.

“I still have no access to a legal laptop. The only brief items I possess are in a manilla folder containing 10 police statements,” Mr Atasoy said.

“As I understand from my legal representative, Ivan Sayad, there is approximately two gigabytes worth of material in respect of my Ipswich charges alone.”

In a written decision, Justice Freeburn revealed Mr Atasoy had been imprisoned since February, 17, 2020, for 880 days. The majority of which is declarable as time spent in pre-trial custody.

“Delay is a regrettable fact of life in the court system, but that should not be allowed to mask the hardship and the potential injustice which it can and does cause,” Justice Freeburn said.

“The prospect of two years in pre-trial custody is, absent exceptional circumstance, not consistent with modern concepts of civil rights.

“There are likely to be even further delays. The brief of evidence is not complete. Particulars and documents are outstanding….no trial is on the horizon.

“The likelihood is that the trial will not be held this year which will mean that, if bail is not granted, Mr Atasoy will remain in custody for three years before trial.”

Justice Freeman granted Mr Atasoy bail with strict conditions.

Those conditions included Atasoy providing a $60,000 surety, residing at a specific address, obeying a curfew between 5pm and 5am, reporting to police three days a week, limited access to mobile phone use and wearing an electronic monitoring device.