Teens win civil case against NT Government over Don Dale treatment

BREAKING: Four teenagers have won a civil case brought against the NT Government over their treatment while in Don Dale youth detention centre.

Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Berrimah, NT.

Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Berrimah, NT. Source: AAP

The four teenagers who brought a civil case against the Northern Territory Government after they were tear gassed while being held at the Don Dale Detention Centre have won their case.

Today they were awarded $53,000 in compensation over the tear gassing incident which occurred in 2014.

The four, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sued the NT government after they were shackled, spit-hooded in August 2014, arguing it amounted to assault and battery.

They told the court they had been tear gassed after one boy had escaped to an exercise yard.

In the NT Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Judith Kelly ruled that the government would pay three of the boys $12,000 each in damages, while the fourth former inmate would receive $17,000.

They described living in shared cells with no access to schooling.

Barrister for the boys Kathleen Foley said that before the gassing incident the teens had been kept in their cells for 17 days straight with only one hour a day for access to an indoor concreted area.

With AAP


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1 min read
Published 21 March 2017 3:52pm
Updated 22 March 2017 9:42am
By Robert Burton-Bradley
Source: NITV News


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