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June 26th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The Northern Territory government is defending itself against criticisms mentally ill people are languishing for years in prisons without being convicted of any crime.
NT Health Minister Kon Vatskalis on Tuesday responded to an ABC TV news report that two Aboriginal men with mental health issues have been jailed indefinitely because there was no other facilities for them.
One of the men, Kerry Mandaway Doolan, 23, has been in jail for four years despite not being convicted of a crime.
Another man, Christopher Leo, 31, has been in prison for almost five years after allegedly assaulting a woman but being unable to plead.
Both men were thought to have been born with foetal alcohol syndrome, the news report said.
Mr Vatskalis said decisions had to be made on whether people needed to be imprisoned because they were a threat to themselves or others.
“It is a court decision after all, after they receive expert advice,” Mr Vatskalis said.
He said the NT’s Labor government had spent tens of millions of dollars to create two new secure mental health facilities – one in Darwin and one in Alice Springs.
“They are going to be open very, very soon in order for these people to be released from the prison and put in a secure area,” Mr Vatskalis told reporters.
He said less than 10 people in the NT were incarcerated indefinitely by the courts.
But principal legal officer with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), Jonathon Hunyor, said while the secure care facilities may be appropriate for some prisoners, less serious offenders could also end up in them because options like community care were unavailable.
“It is grossly unfair, particularly that people are held in a jail when they are unfit to be tried and defend themselves,” Mr Hunyor said.
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