Former Nomads leader to appeal sentence

The former South Australian president of the Nomads bikie gang is seeking to appeal a 16-year minimum jail sentence and have his convictions for ordering disciplinary action against other gang members overturned.

Honar Pishdari was found guilty of two counts of participating in a criminal organisation and with aggravated kidnapping and blackmail in relation to the incidents, including some that involved a former vice-president of the bikie gang.

In May he was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years behind bars but his case is due on Monday to come before the Court of Criminal Appeal where he will seek leave to contest both his conviction and the sentence.

At the time of sentencing Pishdari and other gang members, Justice David Peek said their actions were outrageous and tantamount to those of a paramilitary organisation.

In one incident, Pishdari ordered action be taken against a gang member who had asked for protection from authorities while in jail, something the gang viewed as reprehensible and a sign of weakness.

Justice Peek said Pishdari was "dictatorial and the directing mind of the Nomads," and his prospects for rehabilitation were poor.