Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings speak out: Spy on her “degrading” cell
After bail’s been denied twice for Ghislaine Maxwell, there’s not a lot of hope that she’ll be a free woman before her trial this summer. That isn’t stopping Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings, who told the BBC her conditions amount to “torture”.
Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of soliciting minors for sex trafficking, conspiracy, and perjury and was arrested for these crimes in July 2020. Maxwell pleaded not guilty and has previously called the accusations against her “a tissue of lies”. Ghislaine Maxwell asked for bail twice and was denied both times. The second time, last December, her siblings reportedly helped foot her proposed $25 million bail.
Now, Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings are joining her protests of “onerous conditions” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where she’s being held. See what they have to say here.
Who are Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings?
Ghislaine Maxwell is the youngest of seven siblings. Their father, Robert Maxwell, was a well-known media mogul in Europe who owned tabloids like The Daily Mirror before he passed away. Shortly after, Ghislaine Maxwell met disgraced financier & sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings aren’t entirely unknown. Her two older sisters, Christine & Isabel, are famous in their own right – Christine for starting the tech company Magellan and Isabel for making documentary films since the 1970s and co-founding Magellan with Christine. Isabel has served on the World Economic Forum as a technology pioneer. Both sisters have reportedly helped Ghislaine Maxwell raise funds for her bail.
Ian Maxwell, the Maxwell sibling who spoke to the BBC about Ghislaine’s conditions in prisons, runs a think tank with his brother, Kevin Maxwell, on combatting terrorism in the Middle East. Kevin ran into some legal trouble after taking over his father’s estate. After fraud allegations surfaced, Kevin was tried & acquitted for embezzlement. Kevin also filed for bankruptcy around the same time, declaring a record amount of debt.
Ian’s statements to the BBC
Ian Maxwell told the BBC’s Radio 4 that his sister Ghislaine had been held in isolation for over 250 days. He detailed she was being held in a cell with only a concrete bed and a toilet. “There is no natural light, she is under 24-hour round-the-clock surveillance with 10 cameras, including one that moves and tracks her movements.” He also said the food was “inedible”, and Ghislaine Maxwell’s drinking water was “brown”.
He also detailed the youngest Maxwell sibling was losing her hair in prison and couldn’t properly prepare for her trial. Despite her circumstances, Ian told radio 4 Ghislaine remained “resolute”, maintaining her innocence and denying she was a suicide risk.
Déjà vu
If you’re getting déjà vu from Ian Maxwell’s account of his sibling’s plight, you’re not alone. These were the same arguments Ghislaine Maxwell used to obtain bail for the second time. These “onerous conditions” Ghislaine Maxwell said she was kept under included random checks from guards, reportedly disrupting her trial preparations. Maxwell also fought to be released into gen pop on grounds she wasn’t a suicide risk.
However, the prosecution claimed the inverse, saying Ghislaine Maxwell has it pretty cushy compared to other inmates at the MDC. They stated Maxwell was allowed out of her cell thirteen hours a day and access to privileges other inmates could only dream of such as private showers, computers, and phones.
Flight risk
As is, both Ghislaine Maxwell’s pleas for bail weren’t denied based on conditions in jail. Rather, Ghislaine Maxwell’s bail was denied because Judge Alison Nathan deemed Maxwell’s arguments and bail conditions unreasonable, saying she “again (concluded) that no conditions of release can reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance at future proceedings.”
Gloria Allred, an attorney for many of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims expressed on Today that Ghislaine Maxwell was where she needed to be despite the alleged conditions: “I know Miss Maxwell is probably suffering in jail, nobody likes being in jail, nobody likes having their freedom restricted, but I really think bail should be out of the question, it would be very upsetting to the victims.”
Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial is scheduled to begin in July 2021. If convicted, Maxwell may serve up to thirty-five years behind bars.
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Do you think Ghislaine Maxwell’s siblings have a point about the conditions Ghislaine Maxwell is being held under? Do you believe their public statements may serve another purpose, like securing appeals in the event Ghislaine Maxwell is found guilty and sentenced to prison? Let us know in the comments!
