Notorious criminal Bassam Hamzy said ‘total misunderstanding’ with lawyer led to unfair ruling

Infamous Brothers 4 Life kingpin Bassam Hamzy has described why sticking to the court timetable is an “impossible affair” for a Supermax prisoner.

Bassam Hamzy says a misunderstanding with his lawyer was one of many factors that led to an unfair hearing.

Infamous criminal kingpin Bassam Hamzy has blamed his numerous legal battles for a mix-up in which his lawyer mistakenly told a court he was ready for a hearing when he wasn’t.

It was one of numerous factors that led to a denial of “natural justice” in a dispute over legally privileged documents, the convicted murderer told the Court of Appeal on Thursday afternoon.

The saga stems from the 2018 arrest of Hamzy’s former lawyer, Ali Abbas. A number of materials seized at the arrest were possibly subject to legal professional privilege, a claim Hamzy made over some taped phone calls between himself and Abbas.

Hamzy joined the court case between Abbas and the NSW Commissioner of Police, but in December 2019 a judge denied his requests that the matter be adjourned and that the judge recuse himself on the basis of apprehended bias.

Now Hamzy has asked for leave to appeal, arguing a “multitude of factors resulted in a hearing which was unjust” and that he had been denied the right to appear in court on two occasions.

Hamzy appeared via video from the high-risk inmate facility at Goulburn Supermax before Justices Arthur Emmett and Andrew Bell on Thursday afternoon.

Justice Bell pointed out the matters had been short preliminary hearings and Hamzy had been legally represented at both.

But Hamzy insisted the judge should have made an order for him to appear, and that the timeline he had been asked to adhere to was an “impossible affair” for a prisoner in Supermax with very limited ability to contact the outside world.

If he had been able to actually be in court, Hamzy said, he would not have agreed to the timetable unless he was assured that Corrective Services would actually bring him the material.

“This is not the first time I have been obstructed and denied access to legal material,” he said.

He added that he had not received the taped phone calls he claimed privilege over until March 2020, well after the judgment was handed down in December 2019.

He also noted that he had been left unrepresented on December 6 when his lawyer withdrew.

Asked why his lawyer at the time, Zali Burrows, had said the preparation of material for the court was “well under way”, Hamzy said there had been a “total misunderstanding” in which he and his lawyer were both talking about different cases.

“I had four cases on foot and Miss Burrows believed I was referring to this matter, which is the Abbas matter, when I was actually referring to my criminal appeal,” he told the court.

Barrister Naomi Oreb appearing for the police commissioner said Ms Burrows had received the USB with the phone calls almost two months before the judgment was handed down.

The judge had granted a number of extensions for Hamzy to advance his argument and Hamzy hadn’t indicated to the court he was having problems, she said.

Hamzy conceded the privileged status of the calls had been lost because they had since been distributed to third parties.

Asked by Justice Emmett what, given this fact, is the point of the appeal, Hamzy said judges would have guidance about whether they were required to bring an inmate to court for their matters in the future.

Justices Emmett and Bell have reserved their decision.

Originally published as Notorious criminal Bassam Hamzy said ‘total misunderstanding’ with lawyer led to unfair ruling