A NEWCASTLE judge has blasted the NSW Department of Corrective Services over its treatment of a prisoner, saying it was reminiscent of Guantanamo Bay.
District Court judge Ralph Coolahan described as a "complete disgrace" the department's refusal to allow a 39-year-old man clean clothes during his trial, which was due to start yesterday.
Corrective Services staff had said the man was not able to receive fresh clothes each day, nor would the single set of clothes he was allowed be laundered, irrespective of how long the trial ran, Judge Coolahan said.
This was in line with a "departmental directive", they said.
"I regard it as inhumane," Judge Coolahan told the court. "It reminds me of Guantanamo Bay."
The judge made the remarks on Monday afternoon, the day before the man's trial for aggravated break and enter was due to begin.
The Herald was not able to report the comments until today to avoid any possible influence on the case. The man pleaded guilty yesterday to a lesser charge.
Judge Coolahan told the man's lawyers, who had brought the issue to light, that he was prepared to grant a stay of the proceedings if the man wished, for as long as was required to sort it out, and give him bail.
"I'll grant bail, I don't care what the circumstances," he said.
They said their client wanted to proceed, in spite of the situation.
Judge Coolahan told the court he had been told by way of explanation that staff members were acting on a "departmental directive".
"I'm told they're not singling him out, it's just more draconian attitudes by the department," he said.
The situation deteriorated further on Monday when it emerged the man had not been given morning medication for epilepsy because a nurse, understood to be from Justice Health, was not at court until 4pm that day.
The man's defence barrister claimed it was "six hours overdue".
Judge Coolahan described this as "a complete disgrace".
A statement Corrective Services issued yesterday said it was departmental policy that inmates were "strictly limited in the clothing they can bring from prison on any given day to wear in court".
It said a sentenced inmate could have a single set of clothes stored at a jail, and an unsentenced inmate could have two.
"It is the inmate's responsibility to arrange for his or her clothing to be cleaned at prison before coming to court. An inmate can bring clean socks and underwear for a court hearing."
The statement said that on Monday, staff indicated the prisoner could have a second set of court clothes, to be brought in by a chaplain.
But for a clean set of clothes to be brought in every day would have required a third party, which was against local departmental policy, introduced in 2003.
This states that "no property for any inmate for any reason is to be received from any person. This order extends to the legal profession, any police officer, or third person that may wish to provide property".
Corrective Services staff were concerned on Monday that to have taken any other action would have required a meeting between staff and senior officers to discuss policy about inmates' personal property, the statement said.
A Justice Health spokesman said their nurses worked out of the police cells at the Newcastle court complex and, if unable to provide a prisoner with medication directly, their procedure was to leave it in a bag for Corrective Services officers to do it at a later time.
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