No Arabic: Gang boss sues prison for language ban
The founder of a notorious New South Wales gang has taken legal action against prison bosses for preventing him to communicate in Arabic.
Bassam Hamzy, founder of Brothers 4 Life, is suing NSW Goulburn Supermax prison after they forced him to speak English, ultimately preventing him from speaking to his mother, The Daily Telegraph reports.
"I have family members who I would like to speak to in Arabic. I am not allowed to even speak to my mother in Arabic," Hamzy told the newspaper.
Already serving sentences for murder, conspiracy to commit murder and commercial drug supply, Hamzy won’t be eligible for parole until 2035.
Inmates that are considered ‘extreme high risk’ or those that have been charged with terror related offences were officially banned from speaking Arabic during visitations or phone calls as of 2015.
The new regulations also meant all letters could no longer be written in Arabic, while Mr Hamzy’s lawyer also claimed that some Muslims were prevented from group prayer, carrying a Koran or buying halal food.
State Attorney General Brad Hazzard led the charge back in 2015 in an effort to prevent radicalisation of Muslim inmates.
“We don’t want to create a situation where they feel there’s no sense of humanity, because there will be,” Mr Hazzard told the Daily Telegraph in 2015.
“But they have to understand the people they’re visiting have put our community at risk. There has to be some clear boundaries and rules.”
