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Underworld kingpin George Marrogi has won a Supreme Court battle against the Victorian government over his treatment behind bars, which the convicted murderer compared to conditions endured by late South African president Nelson Mandela.
The landmark win could force the state to rebuild parts of maximum security units at Barwon Prison and the Metropolitan Remand Centre after the drug lord successfully argued living standards in the prisons were inhumane.
George Marrogi.Credit: The Age
A major part of the case centred on a prisoner’s right to access open air for at least an hour each day, weather permitting, and whether the facilities where Marrogi has been imprisoned allow for this.
Following visits to the prisons, Supreme Court judge Claire Harris ruled on Monday that the exercise yards in two cells in the Olearia unit at the maximum-security Barwon Prison and four cells in the Exford unit at the Metropolitan Remand Centre did not meet regulations.
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Of cell 23 at the Exford Unit, Harris found: “The yard felt enclosed, with limited room to move around and the only view to the outdoors being to the sky above the yard through the mesh on the cell’s roof. There was no sense of being outside or in an open space.”
She also found two rear yards in Barwon Prison’s Melaleuca unit and three rear yards in the Acacia unit to be “small, with little room or facility to exercise” and to offer “no real feeling of being outdoors or outside”.
Marrogi sued Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety in a bid to improve prison conditions, including greater access to open air and more freedom while in custody.
His lawyers said prison authorities and the department breached Marrogi’s rights by depriving him of outdoor exercise and the ability to socialise with other inmates.
Marrogi told the court: “Given the walls of the management unit exercise yards are concrete (except for the rare window), the lack of open air and unobstructed sunlight, and the fact that I was there by myself, it really just felt like an extension of my cell, so it was depressing and brought me no relief from my situation.”
But authorities argued Marrogi’s past behaviour and the risk he continued to pose meant the conditions in which he has been held were justified.
Marrogi is serving a 38-year sentence for murder and drug smuggling, and has been deemed one of the most dangerous and high-risk prisoners in the state.
Harris also ruled on Monday that the way Marrogi was strip-searched on dozens of occasions had breached his rights as a prisoner.
“On numerous occasions over the period of his imprisonment, he has been strip-searched and then not permitted to dress privately immediately afterwards, contrary to the requirements,” Harris wrote in her findings.
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“I accept that there has been non-compliance on more than the two occasions that the defendants have been able to identify. It is not possible to determine the number of occasions on which non-compliant searching has occurred.”
Marrogi previously described his life in prison as one of near 24-hour lockdowns and sleep deprivation from construction noise. He complained of being denied phone calls and forced to undergo excessive strip searches and to dress in front of guards.
He also alleged prison guards stole a special earring given to him by his sister before her death, and claimed authorities were trying to push him to suicide as a form of revenge for embarrassing them.
“He’s become obsessed, fixated and paranoid about prison staff. Specifically, he believes the prison is out to harm him,” a psychologist who assessed Marrogi found.
Last year, it was revealed he was caught planning a prison escape in 2022 that involved being flown out of Victoria’s most secure prison and then smuggled out of the country on a luxury yacht. The plan had advanced as far as obtaining aerial images of the prison, along with design drawings and a tax invoice for a yacht, police found. However, the scheme was foiled after prison intelligence officers intercepted phone calls about the plot and raided his cell.
A later operation seized a 28-metre yacht, Bahama, as the proceeds of crime from Marrogi’s gang, Notorious Crime Family.
The search also uncovered “documents containing private information about Barwon prison staff, their families and a judge”.
In 2024, it was revealed Marrogi sprayed a prison guard with faeces and twice set fire to his cell in his battle against prison authorities over his treatment in custody. He also blocked officers attempting to put out a fire and assaulted a guard during an outburst fuelled by the belief he was the target of a campaign by prison officers to unfairly punish him.
Marrogi’s case will return to court at a later date for a declaration on further matters.
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