Compensated prisoners gain right to appeal

Four inmates awarded tens of thousands of dollars compensation after being held illegally in solitary confinement were today granted the right to have their appeal held in the Supreme Court.

New Zealand's highest court has also granted the Government leave to appeal the Court of Appeal's December decision which upheld an earlier High Court order to pay five inmates $130,000.

The inmates' appeal will examine whether the Corrections Department breached the Bill of Rights Act 1990 by treating the prisoners in a cruel, degrading or disproportionately severe manner while in the now defunct Behaviour Management Regime unit at Auckland's Paremoremo Prison.

It will also look at whether the prisoners were denied natural justice after complaining about their treatment.

One of the four prisoners is Christopher Taunoa who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Sanson publican Hugh Lynch in 1996.

The Government's cross-appeal will examine whether the compensation was appropriate.

The prisoners' lawyer Tony Ellis has estimated there are another 200 inmates in the running for $4.5 million compensation.

Whether the 200 other claims go ahead is dependent on the final outcome of this case.

- NZPA