Northland prisoners on remand in Auckland's Mt Eden Serco prison fear for their safety and don't want to go back, a Whangarei barrister says.
Kelly Ellis has revealed that some of her clients on remand are requesting adjournment times for less than two weeks as it increases their chances of being held on remand at Ngawha Prison, near Kaikohe.
Ms Ellis said that, nearly every day a lawyer in Whangarei was asked by "black-eyed and bruised" prisoners to be detained at Ngawha rather than the Serco-managed Mt Eden Correctional Facility.
The prison is under scrutiny after a prisoner died in Whangarei Hospital. Labour Corrections spokesman Kelvin Davis said in Parliament that Nick Evans, 25, was moved to Ngawha Prison in Northland with injuries sustained in Auckland.
Ms Ellis said she had become increasingly concerned about stories linking Serco with fight clubs, widespread drug use, under-staffing and extreme violence.