Lawyers for Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman are asking a judge to order that his jail cell be inspected by a representative from human rights organization Amnesty International, claiming he is being held under “the worst, most restrictive conditions of any prisoner currently detained” in the entirety of the United States.
The condition of Guzman’s imprisonment even “outstrips that imposed on notorious, convicted criminals” held in Colorado’s Supermax prison, the newly filed court documents allege, adding that even hardened serial killers are allowed to “watch television in their cells and to exercise outside in cages where they can see, and speak with, other inmates.”
The documents yet again ask that the judge release El Chapo, known for his many prison breaks, into general population, citing health reasons.
His team of defense attorneys claim their client continues to suffer from lack of contact with his wife and others, and that his auditory hallucinations have continued–with the lonely drug lord allegedly hearing non-existent “Mexican music” playing on loop in his head.
The papers also assert that contrary to the government’s claims, very few of the staff in the Manhattan Detention Complex speak Spanish, leaving him with little means of communicating his needs.
While the government has alleged in the past that Guzman has the “largest” cell in his unit, complete with a “frosted glass” window, the 59-year-old lawyers argue their clients can’t even confirm if the portion of his wall covered with opaque plastic and bars is even a window, given that the “light in his cell has never been turned off.”
Guzman pleaded “not guilty” in January to a 17-count indictment charging him with manufacturing and distributing heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, and money laundering.