Prison Housing R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell 'Like a Gulag': Lawyer

R. Kelly has sued the prison where he and Ghislaine Maxwell are incarcerated after he was put on suicide watch, for purely "punitive measures" according to his lawyer.

Attorneys for the prison have hit back saying the prison intended to keep Kelly on suicide watch and called for the claims to be dismissed.

The disgraced singer, real name Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for federal racketeering and sex trafficking on June 29. His lawyer Jennifer Bonjean has said that the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), Brooklyn is "being run like a gulag."

Bonjean said in a statement on Friday that she spoke with Kelly and found that he was "behaving appropriately" and was still "eager" to pursue his appeal against the 30-year sentence.

In the statement obtained by People, Bonjean expanded on Kelly's state of mind. "He expressed that he was mentally fine and ONLY expressed concern that even though he was NOT suicidal, MDC would place him on suicide watch." Bonjean went on to confirm that they have sued MDC Brooklyn.

Bonjean took her argument to Twitter where she pointed out to a commenter that it in fact "isn't standard protocol" to have an inmate who's been given a lengthy sentence to be placed under suicide watch. "I act at the direction of my client who is living in misery right right now not people who are clueless about the inner workings MDC and the Eighth Amendment," she wrote.

Federal prosecutors have defended the decision to place Kelly under suicide watch, as he "fails to show a substantial likelihood of success for relief," according to court documents seen by CNN.

"MDC has a policy of placing high-profile individuals under the harsh conditions of suicide watch whether they are suicidal or not—this was done recently with Ghislaine Maxwell," Bonjean pointed out in her statement to People.

Suicide watch in a prison generally means that an inmate is placed in a basic cell, with increased observation, and issued a tear-resistant, one-piece smock to wear.

Newsweek has contacted Kelly's attorney Bonjean and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for further comment.

Ghislaine Maxwell was also being held at the MDC Brooklyn, New York, as she awaited sentencing. In late June, her attorney Bobbi Sternheim said in a letter written to Judge Alison Nathan that they would be seeking to delay the sentencing. Sternheim said: "If Ms Maxwell remains on suicide watch, [she] is prohibited from reviewing legal matters prior to sentencing, becomes sleep-deprived and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel."

Sternheim stated that a psychologist had evaluated Maxwell and concluded that she was not suicidal.

In published court documents, Kelly's legal team argued that his confinement under suicide watch "can and does cause serious mental harm" to someone who is not suicidal.

""They cannot shower or shave and are sometimes not even afforded toilet paper. Meals are not provided with utensils, forcing inmates to eat with their hands.," the document continued. "They have no ability to consult with loved ones or supportive figures [...] And of course, they are monitored 24-7 by prison officials. Ironically, individuals on 'suicide watch' don't even receive psychiatric care."

Since his sentencing, R. Kelly has seen a doctor from the prison psychology department once a day, court documents say.

Maxwell's accomplice and former partner Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking charges. He had been taken off suicide watch days before he died.

While Kelly is currently being held in New York, he is due to be transferred to a Chicago prison as he goes on trial in federal court for further charges of child pornography and obstruction in August.