60 Minutes case: Mother Sally Faulkner speaks for the first time from jail in exclusive interview

EXCLUSIVE: The Brisbane mother at the centre of the botched 60 Minutes child recovery mission has spoken for the first time from her Beirut jail cell.

EXCLUSIVE

Sally Faulkner has banned her parents and partner Brendan Pierce from visiting her in her Beirut jail cell and wanted to reassure them she was well, she said in an exclusive interview during a prison visit.

Ms Faulkner gave the interview in the visitors room inside the Baabha Women’s Jail and said she would leave Beirut in a heartbeat but was extremely concerned that all of her loved ones were reassured about her wellbeing despite being handcuffed during her court appearances.

“Please tell my mum and dad how well I am and also Brendan and my in-laws,’’ she said in her first interview since being arrested last week and charged with kidnapping and criminal conspiracy.

“I am fine but my loved ones need to know that.’’

Sally Faulkner, pictured with her two children, Noah and Lahela, has spoken for the first time since the botched 60 Minutes child recovery mission. Picture: Supplied

Ms Faulkner said she had specifically told them not to come over to Lebanon to visit her as “they had priorities and commitments back home’’. She clearly didn’t want them getting more distressed about her dire state after the failed attempt to return her two children back to Australia.

Ms Faulkner also didn’t want to talk about Lahela and Noah except to stress to get their ages correct: five and three. Her other three-month-old baby is with new husband Brendan.

Dressed in jeans, a plain light coloured T-shirt and a denim vest, Ms Faulkner had her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and was without makeup, but looked fresh, having just had a shower, and had enjoyed a rare period of sunshine being allowed some time on the rooftop of the jail in the day.

Nine’s head of news Darren Wick, left, pictured arriving at Baabda Women's Jail in Beirut where Australian mother Sally Faulkner and 60 Minutes’ Tara Brown are being held. Picture: Ben Stevens/i-Images

Clutching some documents, she was hesitant about commenting specifically about any developments lest it impact adversely on her case and that of her cell mate Tara Brown and the remaining 60 Minutes members and child recovery crew.

Faulkner and Brown, along with Channel Nine staff Benjamin Williamson, David Ballment and Stephen Rice and two ex-military men, Adam Whittington and Craig Michael, face charges of kidnapping, physical assault, hiding information and criminal conspiracy which can attract maximum sentences from three to 20 years.

Two Australian embassy representatives spent about 15 minutes with Ms Brown and Ms Faulkner earlier in the day. A church group was also seeking entry to offer counselling. Only four people are allowed to visit on three days a week and News Corp had to apply for visitation rights from the nearby Baabda Court of Justice.

The scene outside Baabda Women's Jail in Beirut where Sally Faulkner is being held. Picture: Ben Stevens/i-Images

The entry to the jail is guarded by wire-topped fencing and guards and there are four layers of security before anyone is allowed into its inner sanctum after being stripped of all accoutrements.

There were at least two basic beds in one of the cells and workers were changing sheets but the only light was a small heavily-meshed window at the top of the 6m high ceilings. The floors were lino, but everything was covered in dust and grime including the heavy metal doors. At the second level of security fencing there were bags of rubbish spilled out over the ground, including used medical gloves with cats scavenging throughout. Delivery men with bags of Lebanese bread had to walk around a sewage tanker.

Ms Faulkner said Ms Brown was also trying to remain as upbeat as possible although they are both cognisant of the delicately difficult position they find themselves in.

‘’I would leave Beirut in a heartbeat, but events have to follow their course,’’she said.

Heartbroken mother Sally Faulker (pictured with her son Noah), who is being held in a Lebanese prison after a botched child recovery mission. Picture: Facebook

She gave no indications whether negotiations with her ex-husband Ali Elamine — who wants sole custody — had progressed.

However yesterday was not the official day for lawyers visits and any developments would be unlikely.

But Ms Faulkner said she had been receiving some “really lovely messages’’ of support from Australians.

‘’Please tell them that I am getting the messages and they have been really lovely and boosting our spirits,’’ she said.

The cityscape of Beirut, Lebanon, where Australian mother Sally Faulkner and the crew of 60 Minutes are being held in prison following a botched child retrieval operation. Picture: Ben Stevens/i-Images

On Wednesday the Beirut judge Rami Abdullah ruled that Lebanese authority had been violated and there would be “no way’’ charges would be dropped.

However he encouraged Ms Faulkner and Mr Elamine to come to an agreement about custody arrangements for the two children.

The judge wants further investigation about who signed off on the kidnapping plot and who paid for the operation. Officially the case will be back in court on Monday.

Originally published as 60 Minutes case: Mother Sally Faulkner speaks for the first time from jail in exclusive interview