Cassie Sainsbury: Chaos in Cocaine Cassie’s jail as coronavirus tensions boil over

Tensions over coronavirus have boiled over leading to violence inside the Colombian prison where drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury is held.

The notorious Colombian women’s prison where convicted Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury is being held descended into chaos over the weekend as tensions related to coronavirus boiled over.

Riots broke out in El Buen Pastor prison and 12 other jails across the capital, Bogota, on Saturday as inmates protested new measures taken by police authorities and imprudent management of the coronavirus, which they say is spreading rapidly through cells.

La Picota Jail saw 23 dead and 83 injured as security forces struggled to prevent a prison break, according to Colombia’s justice minister.

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Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury has found love in jail, becoming engaged to a fellow prisoner, Joslianinyer Pico. Picture: Facebook

One inmate at El Buen Pastor, where Sainsbury is serving her sentence for drug smuggling, described the violent scenes to news.com.au.

Images show women with their red, swollen faces covered in milk powder to alleviate discomfort from tear gas and beatings administered by guards.

Videos show the inmates shouting in unison, waving towels and chanting the country’s national anthem in front of their cells as mattresses were set on fire in rebellion. Shots were heard outside other jails where the troubles escalated further.

Cassie Sainsbury at a Bogota court in Colombia. Picture: Ivan Valencia

Sainsbury was jailed in April 2017 after anti-narcotics police received a tip-off that she was carrying 6.8kg of cocaine concealed inside headphones in her luggage.

The Adelaide-born former personal trainer was reportedly expected to be released late last year on good behaviour but remains behind bars after a series of disruptions delayed hearings.

The mutinies will likely continue, a source inside the prison said, potentially further lengthening Sainsbury’s stay at El Buen Pastor.

‘PANIC’

Tensions were sparked last week when prison authorities blocked visits from family members in an attempt to manage the spread of the coronavirus pandemic through the penitentiary system, inmates say.

Convicts were also enraged by the prevention of the entry of basic dispensary goods sold to inmates such as face masks and cleaning goods, which they say are necessary to fight the outbreak.

After commencing a hunger strike they began protesting and blocked the principal entrance, leading to what inmates say was a heavy-handed response, which included the beating and gassing of terminally ill cancer patients.

Accused drug mule Cassandra Sainsbury is locked up in the El Buen Pastor in Bogota, Colombia.

“It was brutal,” said an inmate inside El Buen Pastor prison. “They are animals, it is like they have no mothers, sisters or wives of their own.”

Gas filled the prison as about 60 security officials set about regaining control, she said.

Colombia’s prisons are built for 81,000 inmates but house more than 120,000, according to the country’s justice ministry.

Non-government organisations (NGOs) and advocacy groups persistently denounce overcrowding and a lack of sanitation and fundamental rights where four or five inmates are sometimes forced to inhabit a cell built for two.

The virus outbreak threatens to exacerbate suffering inside the jails.

Cassie Sainsbury tells her story to 60 minutes. Picture: Channel 9

News.com.au contacted an NGO monitoring conditions in Colombia’s prisons for comment but they refused for fear of repercussions from the country’s prisons authority, INPEC.

NGOs are currently being refused access to the prisons affected.

INPEC was contacted in relation to the claims but did not respond.

Colombia’s Justice Minister Margarita Cabello denies a lack of hygiene is fuelling the spread of coronavirus in Colombia’s prison system.

“There is not one infection nor any prisoner or custodial or administrative staffer who has coronavirus,” Ms Cabello told local media on Sunday.

Inmates fear otherwise.

“The minister says everything is OK but that’s a lie. This is serious, it’s an emergency and it’s worrying for our families,” an inmate inside El Buen Pastor said of the security situation and virus fears.

“We are in a state of panic and feel vulnerable,” she added, noting that women who reported coughs and fevers have been denied both testing and medication.

CORONA UNCERTAINTY

Sainsbury’s legal saga has taken many twists and turns since she was arrested by Colombian police.

Her drug-trafficking story changed significantly several times during the trial and her lawyer Orlando Herrera alleged Australia owed him thousands of dollars in extra legal fees after he secured her a plea deal of six years rather than the maximum possible sentence of 30.

Though her ex-partner Scott Broadbridge pledged to support her during her imprisonment spell in South America, Sainsbury unexpectedly announced her engagement to another female inmate from Venezuela named Joli in November last year.

The couple plan to wed once both regain freedom but the latest disturbances could lengthen a long and painful wait, with inmates pledging to continue the disturbances until their rights are restored.