Phillip Smith on hunger strike, says lawyer

Auckland Airportb footage of Phillip Smith as he flees the country last month. Photo / Supplied

Radio New Zealand has reported that convicted murderer and child abuser Phillip Smith is on hunger strike.

Smith is currently being detained in Auckland Prison in Paremoremo.

He was caught in Rio de Janeiro on November 13 a week after fleeing New Zealand while on temporary release from Spring Hill Corrections Facility in South Auckland. He was serving a life sentence for murder and other violent crimes.

Watch: Smith's rude gesture as he's flown back to NZ

Northern Regional Director for Corrections Jeanette Burns said at the weekend Smith had been put into segregation.

She said Smith would be kept in a cell for 23 hours of the day and allowed out for just one hour each day, adding that all ingoing and outgoing mail would be closely scrutinised and only non-contact visits allowed.

Smith's lawyer, Tony Ellis, told Radio New Zealand this morning that prison officials had stripped away his client's dignity.