Assaulted inmate on bail seeks treatment

The ACT Supreme Court also heard Amir Reza Abdolali Sarbandi, 37, needed continuing medical treatment and feared for his safety in the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

Sarbandi yesterday made his first appearance in court since the bashing, sitting in a wheelchair and resting his head against a rolled-up fleece blanket.

He applied for bail and also pleaded guilty to a charge of using a carriage service to menace or harass.

Another inmate, who is awaiting trial on a serious violence offence, is believed to be responsible for last month's bashing, hitting Sarbandi repeatedly with a vacuum cleaner pole as he sat at a table.

Defence barrister Ray Livingston said Sarbandi had suffered a ''closed head injury'' and had required emergency surgery at the Canberra Hospital after the attack.

He was on a puree diet and had elastic bands in place to restrict the movement of his jaw.

Mr Livingston said the elastic bands had come loose and required further treatment but none had been forthcoming.

He said his client still needed a medical review of his injuries.

But Crown prosecutor Sian Jowitt argued that the prison's deputy superintendent had drawn up a plan for Sarbandi's protection and treatment.

She said the defendant would be placed in the hospital ward, where he would be kept apart from the general population and would have no contact with the detainee who allegedly attacked him.

Sarbandi would also have access to a separate courtyard where he would be alone and would be escorted if he needed to move to any other part of the jail.

The court heard Sarbandi was in custody because he had allegedly committed a serious offence while on bail for another.

He had been due to go on trial for one of the alleged offences but the trial had since been delayed in the wake of the bashing and was not likely to go ahead until next year.

Justice Richard Refshauge said there were special and exceptional circumstances that warranted bail, saying the man suffered serious injuries which would be better managed outside prison.

The judge said he was not suggesting the medical facilities at the prison were at a different level to treatment in the community but said there were limits and restrictions. Justice Refshauge said it was concerning that Sarbandi had allegedly committed a crime while on bail for another offence but conditions could be put in place to prevent him from reoffending.

He granted Sarbandi bail on a $2000 surety to live with his fiancée and placed him on strict conditions, including a ban on contacting 19 people who were witnesses in two separate alleged offences.