Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine, the Oxford-educated daughter of the notorious newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell, was transferred to Brooklyn prison in July last year and has since been seen by the public only in courtroom sketches. In an interview with Daphne Barak, author and film and television producer, published in the Daily Mail , the woman spoke for the first time about her life behind bars , stating that she was attacked and mistreated by prison guards, that she has been deliberately deprived of sleep and given spoiled food.
“In real life, the 10 kilos that he has lost are obvious. His cheeks are sunken and his skin is pale ” , writes Barak, who says that he met her in 1992, when he interviewed his mother, Betty, Robert Maxwell’s widow, after the extraordinary death of the magnate on the coast of Tenerife, just before it was discovered that he had looted the pension funds from their newspapers.
At 59, today’s Ghislaine is a far cry from the glamorous woman who was once a fixture on the international social scene, where she mingled with world leaders like Bill and Hillary Clinton and was close friends with royalty, including Prince Andrew.
Her arrest came 11 months after Epstein, her longtime friend and ex-boyfriend, committed suicide in jail while facing child abuse charges. Until Epstein’s suicide, Maxwell had never faced criminal charges.
You cannot discuss the details of your case on the advice of your powerful legal team. The jury selection begins tomorrow, and the trial, on November 29. But the outlook is not encouraging: US authorities have described her as the recruiter of underage girls for the convicted pedophile Epstein.
He also faces multiple felony charges, including “transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity” and “conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sexual acts.”
“When I met her, Ghislaine was pretty. He was intelligent and eloquent. But he also seemed vulnerable. She was Daddy’s girl and it was clear that she was suffering a lot. At the time, he told me that he lived in a small studio on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that a friend had given him … a certain Jeffrey, ”says Barak.
Since then, he went on to live a glamorous life in the jet-set, moving between Epstein’s houses: in Florida, his New York mansion (the largest private home in Manhattan), his private island in the Caribbean and his ranch in New Mexico. .
She also ended up owning a home in New York – which she sold for $ 16 million – and having a successful career that includes founding TerraMar, an ocean-focused charity.
“I reconnected with Ghislaine three months ago when my friend Susan Zirinsky, the first female president of CBS News, asked me to participate in a major new documentary, Ghislaine, a four-hour show that will air on ITV in the UK. United and on CBS-Paramount plus at the end of the six-week trial, “adds the interviewer.
During the meeting, Maxwell chained his complaints. “At my last court appearance, I was in shackles for more than 12 hours and had to go up and down stairs with my arms and legs chained around my waist. My ankles are raw ”.
“They gave me a meal that looked like Chernobyl after the radioactive fallout. Salads are moldy, an apple had worms , I got a soggy black banana. There was bread so wet that when you squeezed it, water came out, “he added.
In addition, he claimed that he stopped showering every day: “I stopped showering because of the creepy guards who stand nearby and look at me all the time.”
She also assured that the guards are trying to intimidate her. On one occasion, she says she was charged with illegal contraband after spilling the pain reliever Tylenol – prescribed by a prison doctor – on the ground.
“I wash my own clothes. The dryer is so noisy it’s nicknamed the “space shuttle” because it sounds like it’s about to take off. My email, both legal and personal, has been tampered with ”, he said.
Barak details that life in prison has forced her to develop a dark sense of humor and a peculiar relationship with the captors who, according to her, often make her life miserable.
“They were impressed when I cut my hair with clippers and it came out a little straight. It only had a small mirror. They rewarded me with some paper scissors and suggested that I could open a beauty salon, ”Epstein’s friend told him.
Her gravest complaint, however, revolves around not being given adequate time to prepare for the six-week trial … She faces more than 80 years in jail if convicted of all charges.
Maxwell alleges that he was given non-working computers, that vital documentation arrived late, and that for a time he did not have a proper desk to work with.
It says that “there is no presumption of innocence” in the detention center. “Pre-trial prisoners like me, who by law are innocent until proven guilty, are treated as if they were already convicted criminals,” he said. And he added: “It’s wrong, it’s anti-American and unconstitutional. Where are all the people who swore to defend the Constitution? “
His biggest fear is not being able to find an impartial jury. Coverage of the case in the US remains relentless, and is referred to as “Epstein’s Madame” and “Epstein’s partner.”
“Being labeled a ‘socialite’ feels derogatory and sexist, designed to paint me in a negative light. I have worked my entire life, starting with part-time jobs when I was 15 years old. No man with a similar career would be called a socialite. I am overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and shock at the grotesque and false stories that are a total invention and do not resemble reality at all, ”she stated that.