B4L gang boss Bassam Hamzy takes Corrective Services NSW to court over Goulburn’s high risk management unit

Incarcerated Brothers 4 Life boss Bassam Hamzy has taken his jailers to court in a bid to have NSW’s most secure jail wing — in which he is housed — shut down permanently.

Bassam Hamzy, inset, has launched legal action against Corrective Services NSW in the NSW Supreme Court calling for the high-risk management unit (HRMU) inside Goulburn jail, main picture, to be shut down. Pictures: Supplied/News Corp

Incarcerated Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam Hamzy is taking on his jailers in court — and he needs the help of some of the state’s most notorious inmates to do it.

The one-time leader of the Sydney gang has launched legal action against Corrective Services NSW in the NSW Supreme Court calling for the high-risk management unit (HRMU) inside Goulburn jail to be shut down, amid claims it is in breach of laws prohibiting inmates from being subject to “cruel, inhumane and degrading” treatment.

The court heard Hamzy claims Corrective Services has refused him access to up to 26 former and current prisoners within Goulburn’s high risk management unit, including convicted double murderer Naseam El-Zeyat and Hellfire club massacre shooter Kon Georgiou, whom he is hoping to convince to give affidavits in his case.

He is also claiming he has been denied phone contact with a lawyer to help him mount a separate case before the High Court of Australia.

In a hearing before Justice Anthony Meagher this week, Hamzy, who is self represented, indicated he is seeking to challenge Corrective Services over what he claims is “cruel, inhumane and degrading” treatment he is receiving while locked up in the HRMU, which is having a detrimental impact on his mental health.

Inside Goulburn's Maximum security jail.

The court heard the law prohibits prisoners from being put in dark cells, subject to solitary confinement, corporal punishment, torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment while incarcerated.

It also says prisoners should not be exposed to “any other punishment or treatment that may reasonably be expected to adversely affect the inmate’s physical or mental health”.

Supermax inside Goulburn Correctional Centre. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Hamzy claims the current conditions inside the HRMU put it in breach of the law.

In a handwritten summons presented to the court, Hamzy outlines that he is seeking the Supreme Court to declare the HRMU does breach the law, along with a further declaration that the unit should be “shut down or brought into compliance with the law”.

The court heard Hamzy claims he has been exposed to multiple incidents and events that have had an impact on his mental health, including having fellow prisoners self-harm or commit suicide.

He gave examples of when one inmate sewed his own lips together, and another covered himself in faeces, saying both incidents greatly impacted his mental health.

The court heard he is seeking a court order allowing him access to up to 26 former and current HRMU inmates, some of whom are convicted killers, to collect affidavits about their own experiences inside the state’s most secure jail in order to bolster his court case.

Hamzy said he was currently not allowed to contact other inmates due to tight security reasons, however he claimed that should not outweigh his legal right to present all relevant evidence in his court case.

“My application to the court to access these witnesses is solely based on the fact that I have a legal standard of evidence I have to meet, I have to meet the threshold of cruel, inhumane, degrading, solitary confinement, on evidence, your Honour,” Hamzy said.

“Yes I will be giving evidence, but I also want to have my evidence corroborated, I want to have my evidence strengthened, so we aren’t in a position where my evidence is simply in contest to an officer’s evidence.

“What I seek to establish is the treatment of every other inmate that’s in the HRMU has a direct impact on me.”

Hamzy denied suggestions he was on a “fishing expedition”, claiming he already knew what others were going to say.

“I believe I should have the right to put all my evidence before the court to meet the obligations of my legal threshold,” he said.

Hamzy told the court he had attempted to negotiate with Corrective Services to allow him video link and phone access to the inmates, which he said could be monitored in real life by a staff member, who would be obliged to report any potential breaches of the law to police.

He said Corrective Services had not agreed to the request, and were continuing to deny him access to the men due to “security considerations”.

Lawyers for Corrective Services have applied to set aside Hamzy’s summons.

Justice Meagher has reserved his decision.

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