Alleged prison rioters in solitary since May sue NT government for ‘false imprisonment’ compensation
FOUR men charged over a prison riot that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage are suing the Territory government for compensation after being locked in solitary confinement since May.
Police & Courts
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FOUR men charged over a prison riot that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage are suing the Territory government for compensation after being locked in solitary confinement since May.
Marley Campbell, Jason Reid, Clinton Price and Shane Noble were each charged with damaging property in a riot and escaping lawful confinement after the disturbance on May 13. Price was also charged with arson and Campbell with making a threat to burn or explode and assaulting a worker.
In documents filed with the Supreme Court and obtained by the NT News, the four say they have been held in various degrees of lockdown since, in violation of the Correctional Services Act.
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In his claim, Campbell says he was moved from low security to maximum security on the day of the riot where he has since been held alone in his cell for a minimum of 23 hours a day.
Reid says he’s been held in similar conditions, being let out of solitary only for as little as 10 minutes a day on some occasions.
Price and Noble’s claims say they were moved into maximum security and only allowed out of their cell for an hour a day up until June 5, when the limit was reduced to between 20 and 30 minutes a day.
According to the documents, the four men are seeking an order from the court releasing them from solitary confinement as well as damages for “false imprisonment”.
The men all say they have had no contact with other prisoners even while outside their cells, except Noble, who was allowed to see one other inmate during a two-week period in early June.
Last week, the NT News revealed WorkSafe inspectors refused to enter the prison to inspect the estimated at least $27m in damage because they deemed it unsafe.
A leaked email showed the inspectors were due to attend the prison in June but refused to do so.
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Meanwhile, prison officers said it was absurd they’d been forced to work in a facility that the government’s own health and safety watchdog refused to enter.
“WorkSafe won’t go in there but it’s all right for us,” one officer said.