A senior Corrective Services bureaucrat sent an aggressive, intimidating letter to a prisoner support group after it gave evidence critical of the jail, including allegations that an intellectually disabled detainee was mistreated.
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The senior public servant has since been rebuked by Justice Minister Shane Rattenbury, who is angry that his government could be seen to be attempting to silence critics.
Prisoners Aid, a small organisation reliant on government funding, gave evidence last month to an inquiry into an auditor-general's report on the rehabilitation of inmates at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
The group raised a number of issues of concern, including one incident detailed by the group's vice-president Shobha Varkey, who alleged an intellectually disabled woman with epilepsy and a brain injury was improperly restrained and pushed by guards.
"It was inhumane treatment," Ms Varkey told the committee.
"There could have been a way to have avoided that," she said.
Other issues were also raised, including rates of Indigenous incarceration, the cost of running the jail, changes to the prison visitation system, and the incompatibility of ACTION bus services with visits.
After its evidence, the group received a letter from a senior member of Corrective Services.
The letter was said to be aggressive, intimidating, and suggested they shouldn't give such evidence in the future to committees, but instead deal with it internally with the directorate.
Mr Rattenbury has since written to Prisoners Aid to apologise to them for his directorate's aggressive letter, and assure them that he did not condone such views.
"I do not in any way endorse the generally aggressive and accusatorial tone of the letter, which could be construed as an attempt to intimidate and threaten Prisoners Aid ACT in relation to the evidence that they gave," Mr Rattenbury wrote.
The directorate is said to have disagreed with the truth of the evidence given by Prisoners Aid.
But Mr Rattenbury said the proper process to dispute such evidence was to notify the committee directly.
He told Fairfax Media that the staff member responsible for the letter may be disciplined or trained.
"Clearly the letter that was sent should never have been sent," Mr Rattenbury said.
"But it was, and the important thing now is to ensure Prisoners Aid and other NGOs know that they are free to raise their concerns with government, with committees. That is their role.
"It's an important role, that I as a minister value and that the government expects such organisations to play."
Organisations like Prisoners Aid are in a precarious position. They work in an often sensitive and restrictive environment, and are funded by ACT government. Many fear speaking out publicly.
Mr Rattenbury used his letter to reassure that "these recent interactions will not have any adverse impacts on Prisoners Aid's ongoing service delivery or contract management".
Prisoners Aid ACT president Brian Turner said the letter was interpreted as aggressive by some staff.
Mr Turner said his organisation generally had a good working relationship with Corrective Services, and described the letter as an aberration.
He said the letter wouldn't deter him from giving such evidence again in the future, but said it may deter others.
