The lawyer of a young teenager, who featured in Four Corners story about abuse of young offenders in the Northern territory, has called for his immediate release. In a media statement he said after years of brutalisation and mistreatment in Darwin's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre he now needs serious assistance.
O'Brien Solicitors Media Statement:
Dylan Voller is in an adult prison, in a form of segregated imprisonment, right now. He needs to be released today says Peter O’Brien, solicitor for Dylan Voller and 16-year-old Jake Roper.
“Dylan Voller has been my client since 2015. We act for him, and Jake Roper, in a suit against the Northern Territory government for assault, battery and false imprisonment, arising from their treatment within the NT youth detention system.
“He must be released immediately. The impact of these years of brutalisation must be immediately measured and he needs immediate assistance”
“Any child locked up in solitary confinement in the Northern Territory need to be released immediately.”
“The terms of reference of the Royal Commission need to be as broad as possible. It seems that this abuse is built into the very core of the system. For instance, for cases alleging intentional abuse by those in authority in the Northern Territory, there is a 28 day limitation period – people in every other state in the country has three or six years to commence their claim. This type of system prevents accountability and transparency, and allows abuse to go unchecked.”
“The laws of the Northern Territory are written to make it as difficult as possible for people who have been victims of state-related abuse to seek justice.”
“The Territory’s defence claims that the state is not vicariously liable for the actions of the guards. That is their defence, a matter we dispute, and to be determined by the court.”
RELATED ARTICLE
Royal Commission called into NT juvenile detention
