AN inmate accused of attacking a prison officer has refused to travel to the North-East for a court hearing in the case.
Dana Jaber Ali was to have appeared at Durham Crown Court, yesterday, to face a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm, relating to an incident at Durham Prison, on August 16, last year.
The 33-year-old defendant, of Walter Street, Stockton, who has since been transferred to HMP Forest Bank, in Pendlebury, Manchester, was to have been produced at court for the plea hearing.
But the court heard he refused to get onto a prison bus to bring him for the hearing.
Richard Bennett, for the defendant, said he understood his client feared that being brought to court in Durham would mean he would be readmitted to the city’s prison, where the complainant and colleagues in the case work.
Judge James Adkin agreed to adjourn to allow the defendant to appear via video link from HMP Forest Bank for the hearing, on Thursday.
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