The United Nations Human Rights Council is being asked to investigate the case of an intellectually disabled Aboriginal man who has been repeatedly strapped to a restraint chair in an Alice Springs prison.

Key points: Intellectually disabled Aboriginal man forcibly restrained, sedated on 17 occasions since 2012, guardian claims

Intellectually disabled Aboriginal man forcibly restrained, sedated on 17 occasions since 2012, guardian claims Malcolm Morton held in arbitrary detention in the NT, UN Human Rights Council told

Malcolm Morton held in arbitrary detention in the NT, UN Human Rights Council told Mr Morton's guardian says use of restraint chair "is unnecessary"

Malcolm Morton, 25, is being held in the maximum security wing of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre and has been forcibly restrained in a chair and sedated on about 17 occasions since 2012, according to his guardian.

Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs said it has received at least 10 complaints from the guardians of other intellectually disabled prisoners, most of them Aboriginal, who have also been forcibly restrained in prisons.

"I'm aware over the last two or three years of something like 10 or so of these kinds of complaints," Professor Triggs said.

Professor Triggs said that when the issue has been raised with the Federal Government, "they have quite simply washed their hands of the whole affair and said it's nothing to do with the Commonwealth".

The revelations follow international condemnation of the use of a restraint chair to contain Dylan Voller, a young Aboriginal man who was threatening self-harm in an NT prison.

UN commissioner shocked at 'inhuman and cruel treatment'

Following the broadcast of the images of Mr Voller restrained in the chair wearing a spit hood, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, issued a statement saying he was shocked at the inhumane and cruel treatment of children in detention in the NT.

Now, the UN Human Rights Council has been told that Mr Morton is being held in arbitrary detention in the NT, that he is being subject to cruel and degrading treatment, and that the Commonwealth Government has failed to intervene to provide secure care.

Professor Patrick Keyzer drafted the United Nations complaint that was recently lodged.

"The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has been extremely concerned about the revelations from the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, and we anticipate the UN will also be very concerned about the revelation that restraint chairs are used in other parts of the corrections system in the NT, particularly in relation to vulnerable prisoners," Professor Keyzer said.

"I think Malcolm's treatment could certainly be described as inhuman and degrading. Certainly there will be evidence put and allegations made that characterises Malcolm's treatment in those terms."

While Mr Morton has been restrained numerous times, there is no suggestion he has been hooded.

Mr Morton was born with severe intellectual impairments and also has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy.

In 2007 in the remote central Australian community of Santa Teresa, Mr Morton fatally stabbed his uncle Simon Wallace.

Malcolm Morton was born with severe intellectual impairments and diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy. ( Supplied )

Mr Wallace was a mechanic in Santa Teresa and was caring for Mr Morton with virtually no support from NT disability services.

Doctors in the community had repeatedly warned that without proper treatment Mr Morton would be a danger to himself and others.

A Northern Territory judge found in 2009 that Mr Morton was unfit to plead to a charge of murder.

He has been held in maximum security conditions in prison ever since, however currently is granted day release to a secure health unit that adjoins the Alice Springs Correctional Centre.

Guards 'don't have the necessary set of skills'

Mr Morton's legal guardian Patrick McGee, who is also the coordinator of the Aboriginal Disability Justice Campaign, has repeatedly raised complaints with the NT and Federal governments about Mr Morton's restraint and sedation.

Mr McGee wants Mr Morton to be provided with appropriate disability care and to be released from prison.

"Malcolm is considered a serious risk of harm to himself and others, that is, he uses violence as a form of communication," Mr McGee said.

"He's never been taught to communicate using verbal language, and his disability is such that he has very poor receptive and expressive language.

"He often spends large amounts of time in his cell. Ten out of every 12 hours could be spent in his cell. He has to be escorted when he's out of his cell by prison officers.

"And because he has an intellectual disability and this is a maximum security prison many of the prison officers don't have the necessary set of skills to actually manage him.

"As his guardian what we would be saying is a maximum security prison is the wrong place for people with intellectual disabilities and he should be on the care and treatment of the Department of Health, their office of disability."

Restraint chairs 'barbaric', 'a last resort'

Mr McGee said the use of the restraint chair on Mr Morton was as "a barbaric use of restraint that is unnecessary".

"The position of the prison is that they can't allow him to continue to hurt himself," Mr McGee said.

"In the absence of any other alternatives what they do is they enter the cell and manhandle him into a restraint chair.

"They strap him into a restraint chair and they usually inject him with some kind of tranquiliser until he's compliant and calm.

"They've done this about 17 times between 2012 and 2015. Our position has always been that if they have to resort to this kind of intervention then he is in absolutely the wrong place because there are alternatives to this type of intervention."

Sorry, this video has expired Images of Dylan Voller strapped into a restraint chair attracted international condemnation.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists describes the use of restraint as an "extreme" measure that should only be used as a last resort.

"We would not support the use of restraint chairs or indeed some of the other very restrictive and aggressive measures that we saw highlighted [in the Four Corners program] last week," said the College's president Malcolm Hopwood.

The Greens' Indigenous affairs spokesperson Rachel Siewert, who was re-elected to the Federal Senate this week, said she would move to restart a parliamentary inquiry into the indefinite detention of people with cognitive impairment.

Senator Siewert said the use of restraint on people such as Mr Morton should be urgently investigated.

"I look forward to pursuing this inquiry and shedding some light on this issue," Senator Siewert said.

"The community is now seeing the impact of race to the bottom to be 'tough on crime'. Prisons are not the place for people with cognitive impairment who are found unfit to plead."

When questioned about the treatment of Mr Morton, a spokesperson for Attorney-General George Brandis said it was a matter for the Northern Territory Government.

The NT Government has not yet responded to requests for comment.