THE father of former Brimbank Mayor Natalie Suleyman is believed to have lodged a complaint with the Victorian Ombudsman claiming he was bullied during the investigation into the embattled council.

An ALP heavyweight, Hakki Suleyman was formerly an electorate officer for Planning Minister Justin Madden, but was sacked following the Ombudsman’s report, which found he had inappropriately interfered in council decisions during his daughter’s tenure as mayor.

However, Mr Suleyman has hit back, alleging that he was mistreated by an Ombudsman’s officer during the investigation.

Mr Suleyman’s lawyer, George Defteros, told The Age Mr Suleyman had been unfairly treated during the interview process.

“We have made a complaint under section 11 of the Ombudsman’s Act requesting an independent investigator be appointed,” Mr Defteros confirmed.

“In view of the process that was taken, we say the client was not treated properly during the course of the interview. The client’s human rights were breached under the Charter of Human Rights and we make the complaint in the strongest possible terms.”

Star attempted to contact Mr Suleyman for comment through his lawyer but Star’s phone calls were not returned before deadline.

A spokeswoman for the Victorian Ombudsman would not confirm whether a complaint had been made, for privacy reasons.