Radicalised teen prisoner ‘carved IS slogan into cellmate’s forehead’

An Australian prisoner has reportedly cut an Islamic State slogan into the face of a fellow inmate. Bourhan Hraichie, 18, allegedly engraved the letters “e4e” on to his 40-year-old cellmate during the attack last week, an apparent reference to the Islamic State revenge mantra “an eye for an eye”. Hraichie is then said to have placed a towel over the face of his victim, who was reported to be a former soldier, and poured boiling water over him.

(Hraichie) clearly identified himself as a radical. I am appalled that these two inmates were placed in the same cell.

NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin

Hraichie is believed to have become radicalised while inside Kempsey prison, New South Wales, and had not been sentenced for any terror offences. Prison guard spokesman Steve McMahon told reporters that concerns over the teenager’s apparent radicalisation meant he should have been segregated from other prisoners. "The 18-year-old, in our belief, had presented enough information and bad behaviour to have been segregated, or at the very least, been put in a single cell,“ he said. Hraichie has been transferred to a maximum-security prison and will appear in court next month charged with causing grievous bodily harm and intentional choking.

I will ask the Inspector of Custodial Services for a full and thorough investigation of the management of radicalised prisoners in the system, including the assault.

New South Wales Corrections Minister David Elliott

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