Stuart Highway needs your support

Napatista Stuart Highway is still incarcerated in Darwin Prison. NAPNT members are concerned for his welfare, please ring the Darwin Correctional Centre on (08) 8922 0111 (+61 8 8922 0111) to ensure that Stuart’s human rights are being respected. Please write to Stuart and let him know that he (and the other prisoners) is supported on the outside.

For more information about Stuart’s case and what you can do to help Free Stuart Highway click here.


Excerpts from letter from Stuart Highway to Gary Meyerhoff (received Thursday, 01st December 2005)


Written on Sunday 27th November 2005


Stuart Highway
Darwin Correctional Centre
PO Box 1407
Darwin 0801

40 days down, 51 to go

Dear Gaz,

Then: you’re painting your cell tomorrow! – Oh no, how am I going to go with that? I’ve never done it before. You’re sleeping in the dorm tonight, just for 1 night, while the paint dries. Later: no, you’re not going in the dorm tonight, you’ll be in one of those cells ‘down the back’ instead, but only for one night. – Oh, ok. Next morning I’m expecting to go back to my usual cell. But no! You have to stay in the punishment block. Only one more night, though, instead of 2 more. What !? I wasn’t even supposed to be put in the punishment block at all! Now I’m supposed to be grateful that I’m only going to be there 2 nights instead of 3? – ok, ok, so I have to go back in that cell for another night. Right, it’s reasonably clean, I know what to expect, having spent last night in there.

But no, you’re going in a different punishment cell tonight. Christ!!! What the hell’s going on??? This one’s not quite as clean…

And once I’m locked in there, there’s another problem… I won’t go into details…FUCK! I feel like I’m really going to lose it now. Especially when the penny drops. The REAL reason for all this performance sinks into my mind. Stress overload…

What can I do about it though, really? Stuck here by myself in this stinking hot cell where there’s hardly any ventilation. It looks like it hasn’t been cleaned properly since the last person was in here… It’s a real PHYSICAL EFFORT to get water out of the ‘tap’ (read: metal hole on the wall) above the washbasin.

Read Stuart’s letter here.

And there’s a report of more trouble at the Darwin Prison here.