Oz Teen Fears Reprisals Over Prison Abuse Video

A teenager who was filmed being left hooded and tied to a chair for two hours at an Australian juvenile jail fears reprisals from guards, it has been claimed.

Footage of Dylan Voller being forcibly restrained by guards was uncovered by ABC documentary Four Corners, prompting an investigation into the now-closed Don Dale juvenile detention centre in Darwin.

The documentary also showed Voller, then aged 17, being thrown across his cell, stripped naked and tear gassed with five other boys.

Voller is now serving a sentence in Berrimah Prison, Darwin, and fears for his safety since the release of the footage, his lawyer said.

Alex Tighe, a member of Voller's legal team, said: "His name is now national and international, he now has a huge target on his head just because it's such a big issue."

Three of the guards at Berrimah were officers at Don Dale and one has allegedly told Voller: "You deserved everything you got in those videos", News AU reports.

Mr Tighe added: "He is in a segregated part of the prison, but the guards have all-area access.

"If you're a person in prison you can't protect yourself from the guards."

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has announced a royal commission into Don Dale, has described the situation as a "shocking state of affairs".

He told ABC radio: "Like all Australians I was deeply shocked.

"I was shocked by the images and treatment of children."

He added: "We want to know how this came about, we want to know what lessons can be learned from it, we want to know why."

Footage of Voller wearing a "spit hood" and being tied up by his hands and neck came after the teenager threatened to hurt himself, News AU reports.

Four Corners also showed Voller, now 18, being held face down for three minutes in a hogtie position by one guard.

Teens kept in Don Dale's isolation wing were allegedly locked in small cells for almost 24 hours a day with no running water and little natural light.

Peter O'Brien, a lawyer representing two boys suing over alleged abuse at Don Dale, said Four Corners had laid bare a "national disgrace".

He added: "The abuse is chronic and appears systematic.

"Our clients have suffered at the hands of those charge to protect them."