<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In his nine years in prison, underworld kingpin George Marrogi claims the </span><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/prison" rel="" target="" title="prison"><span>prison</span></a><span> yards he's been confined to have only been cleaned once.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They cleaned them for the first time since 2006 on the 10th of September, but everything else, the fences, has remained the same," he told Victoria's Supreme Court today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 36-year-old murderer who was jailed over the daylight shooting of Kadir Ors in 2016 is taking the Department of Justice to court in his fight for more freedom in custody.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-climate-change-risk-assessment-property-impact/6278ac2c-1e4a-4a60-867b-66e761984ebf" target="_blank"><strong><span>Aussies staring down the barrel of looming $770 billion catastrophe</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His barrister Sarala Fitzgerald said prison staff have restrained and controlled his daily experiences, from human interaction to seeing the natural world.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She alleged he has not been allowed to be in the open air for at least an hour each day or get dressed in private after strip-searches, and has been held in solitary confinement for 18 months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lawyers representing the department have objected to Marrogi's allegations, saying Justice Claire Harris can make her own judgment on the open-air opinion, rejected he hadn't been able to dress in private, and defended keeping him in solitary confinement for the security and welfare of the entire prison.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/george-marrogi-crime-boss-in-court-bid-to-improve-life-behind-bars-melbourne-victoria-news/85dd7a04-9f79-4eb5-ac58-52b76bb9a215" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Marrogi appeared via video link from Barwon Prison, where he gave evidence about being permitted to be outside his cell for "more than an hour now", accessing the day room and two yards.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He revealed, in the past two months, he had been able to mix with a second prisoner after not having had human contact "for a long time".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I feel good. I feel happier. Just doesn't change that I'm still not open-air. I prefer to be in mainstream with everyone else, where I can mix with people and go outside and exercise, but it's had a positive impact on me," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Corrections Victoria's Assistant Commissioner for sentence management Jennifer Hosking said Marrogi was separated in September 2016 due to the nature of his alleged offending, the victim's associates and the media attention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said he was regularly and randomly moved from cells due to his high escape risk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The court was told of two previous occasions in March 2019 and April 2020 of consideration to transfer Marrogi to the mainstream unit with other prisoners.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hosking said Marrogi declined to attend his March 2019 meeting and his 2020 meeting was deferred due to an ongoing police investigation where details were not provided to the decision-making board, so they erred on the side of caution.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't believe they were saying there is no longer a need for separation. It was an exploratory process," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hosking disputed Marrogi's claim that management was influenced in their decision to keep him locked down due to media interest in the prisoner.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's not about how much interest the media has. It's about the effect of that interest on the perceptions of other prisoners," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Prisoners will read reporting, they will make decisions, they will assume things, and so the level of reporting on a person is a factor we have to take into consideration, because it can affect the behaviours of other people."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Marrogi is serving a 32-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and the shooting murder of Ors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The hearing continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></a><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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