Bassam Hamzy’s Supermax play dates with killers and terrorists
EVEN the inmates of Supermax crave some company. The Brothers 4 Life gang boss spends quality time with the convicted terrorist, but is banned from seeing his B4L arch-rival. The triple-killer shoots hoops with a former enemy from the Rebels bikie gang. And no one wants to hang out with the serial killer.
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THEY shoot hoops, run on a track or work up a sweat in the sports yard — it’s the Supermax version of a “play date”, only the participants are killers and terrorists.
While not everyone wants a prison buddy — ageing serial killer Ivan Milat prefers to keep to himself these days in his sparsely furnished cell — most inmates at the Goulburn High Risk Management Unit (HRU) want time to hang with another.
The Sunday Telegraph has been given a rare inside glimpse into the friendships in Australia’s most secure prison, where prison officers embark on a daily juggle act to ensure arch rivals never shed blood.
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The heavily-supervised “associations” follow a detailed screening process, with prisoners only given approval to spend some time together pending good behaviour.
The sessions can occur for around two hours in the morning, or afternoon, with hang out venues including the Supermax sports yard or basketball court. There is also a running track, although access requires a higher level of good behaviour.
A ‘play date’ is initiated following a request from an inmate to spend time with another, with both having to sign an application form.
This passes through a chain of people, including prison unit staff who may put down their thoughts on a pending association.
The form is then passed to intelligence officers, who may undertake further research before the application is approved — or rejected — by an assistant superintendent, area manager and the manager of security.
Once an association is cleared, the inmates do not have to go through the process again unless new intelligence or issues emerge.
The approved association is noted on the prisoner cell card, with only those with the same classification generally allowed to spend time with each other.
Sources close to the prisoners reveal Brothers 4 Life founder Bassam Hamzy has several approvals to hang out with inmates such as Milad Bin Ahmad-Shah Al-Ahmadzai, who is serving an 18-year sentence for the attempted murder of Michael Rooke outside a gay club in Rydalmere in 2013.
Bilal Khazal, a former baggage handler and confidant of Osama bin Laden, also has a clearance to “play” with Hamzy, as does convicted terrorist Khaled Cheikho, who is counting down a 27-year sentence.
It is understood former Brothers 4 Life leader Farhad “The Afghan” Qaumi is also allowed to associate with an ex-president of the Rebels bikie chapter.
Several other known associations cannot be published for legal reasons.
With some of the nation’s most fiercest rivals happening to be both serving time in Supermax, it’s a juggling act for officers.
Hamzy, who founded B4L while behind bars, and Qaumi, who ran the Blacktown chapter, are among those who are not allowed to associate, with the pair leaving a trail of blood across Sydney in a series of tit-for-tat murders in their fight for dominance over the city’s lucrative drug scene.
Their hatred for each other escalated in 2013 when Hamzy’s cousin Mohammed, who was head of the B4L Bankstown chapter, was shot in a hail of bullets.
Mohammed survived, but his cousin Mahmoud was killed.
Despite the rigorous screening process, not all play dates are without incident.
A law enforcement source said triple murderer Michael Kanaan and Qaumi were no longer allowed to hang out after a play date turned into a punch up. The pair came to blows within seconds of entering the yard, leading to suspicions the ‘play date’ had been organised merely so the fight could occur.
The reason for their enmity is unclear.
For a play date to occur, prisoners with approved clearances must make a “booking” for either a 9am or 12.30pm session.
Given the limited number of places inmates can hang out, not everyone can have a play date.
However, it is understood most prisoners are happy to share around the sessions.
Some, like 73-year-old Milat, prefer to be left alone.
A prison source said the backpacker killer “hated the cold”.
Corrective Services said it used prisoner associations as a management tool, with those who demonstrate good behaviour granted the privilege.