The way British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is being treated in the New York prison is “degrading” and “tantamount to torture,” her brother told the BBC.
Ian Maxwell said she was being kept under constant surveillance in a 6×9 ft (1.8 x 2.7 m) cell with no natural light and that the food was “basically unpalatable”.
Maxwell is accused of helping convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein prepare girls, which she denies.
She is currently seeking bail, before her trial, which is expected to take place in July.
Prison officials did not comment on her condition.
Maxwell, 59, who also has American and French citizenship, has been stuck in Brooklyn since being arrested last July at his isolated New Hampshire mansion.
His two previous bail requests were unsuccessful.
On Wednesday, Gloria Allred, a lawyer representing the alleged victims, told the BBC that bail should be “out of the question” as it “would be very disturbing for the victims”.
Federal prosecutors, however, said Maxwell’s offer to waive British and French citizenship as part of his bail application was “little more than a facade”.
In a letter released on Wednesday, the three prosecutors said Maxwell remains a “pure risk of escape”.
Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019.
What did Ian Maxwell say?
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Wednesday, Maxwell said his sister had been kept “in effective isolation” for nearly 250 days.
He said that her cell had only a concrete bed and a bathroom.
“There is no natural light, she is under surveillance 24 hours a day with 10 cameras, including one that moves and tracks her movements,” said Maxwell.
The water he was receiving was “brown”, he said, adding that the food was “highly microwave-safe … and basically inedible”.
He said she was unable to properly prepare for the trial because of conditions of detention.
Mr. Maxwell said he believed she was losing her hair, having problems with her vision and ability to concentrate.
But he said she remained “determined” and denied suggestions that she was at risk for suicide.
Mr. Maxwell also said that the identities of his sister’s three accusers were not revealed just four months before the trial began.
What did the prosecutor’s lawyer say?
Ms. Allred is representing several women who accuse Ghislaine Maxwell of preparing girls for Jeffrey Epstein.
“I know that Miss Maxwell is probably suffering in prison, no one likes to be in prison, no one likes to have their freedom restricted, but I really think bail should be out of the question, it would be very upsetting for the victims,” he said. her in today’s Program.
She added that Ms. Maxwell could have access to legal aid from the prison, but “the charges against her are very serious” and “she needs to stay where she is, in custody”.
Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?
Mrs. Maxwell, daughter of media mogul Robert Maxwell, was in a relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein in the 1990s. She reportedly introduced Epstein to wealthy and powerful figures, including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of the British Royal Family.
Epstein took his own life pending trial on sex trafficking charges, more than a decade after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Four of the charges against Maxwell relate to the years between 1994 and 1997, when prosecutors say she helped Epstein prepare girls up to 14 years old. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016.
She faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted.
In a separate development on Wednesday, it was confirmed that Epstein’s home in New York was sold for just under $ 50 million (£ 35.8 million). The proceeds from the sale will be added to a victim compensation fund, lawyers say.