The Supreme Court will decide today whether to allow jailed Pomio MP Paul
Tiensten out on bail. This follows a bail application by Tiensten’s lawyer last week, revealing grounds of alleged threats in the prison. Lawyer Greg Shepherd for Mr Tiensten submitted in court during the bail application that the safety of Mr Tiensten was not guaranteed at the prison due to alleged ongoing threats with verbal and physical assaults by high risk prisoners. He submitted that a letter was written to the jail commander to look into the allegations but no steps were taken. It is incumbent upon the prison commander to look into such issues but noting had been done, Mr Shepherd told the court during the application. Mr Shepherd said one of the factors fuelling the alleged threats towards his client was because of the death penalty that was passed by parliament that did not go down well with the high risks prisoners. He submitted that the high risk prisoners were aggrieved over the death penalty law and were using their frustration on Mr Tiensten as he was a member of parliament. It was submitted that Tiensten was at once stage physically attacked with a brick thrown at him and this posed a great threat to his life. Mr Sheppard submitted that the safety of his client was not guaranteed at the prison and amounted to a breach of constitutional rights. Mr Shepherd said Tiensten’s life was in danger and therefore bail should be allowed for Tiensten pending the appeal against his nine year sentence. State prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor’s office opposed the application and argued that the allegations raised were administrative matters which could be resolved within the prison by prison hierarchies. The prosecutor also argued that there must be exceptional circumstances of breach of constitutional rights. If so, than the matter could be pursued through the human rights courts or other alternatives such as transferring the prisoner to another prison facility in the country. He also submitted that the courts should be careful in considering such bail application as it could open the flood gates. After hearing the submissions, the judges adjourned to today for a ruling. Comments are closed.
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