“The truth is that wealthy men charged with similar or more serious offenses, many of whom have foreign ties, are routinely granted bail so that they can effectively prepare for trial. Bernie Madoff. Harvey Weinstein. Bill Cosby. John Gotti. Marc Dreier. Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Ali Sadr. Adnan Khashoggi. Mahender Sabhnani. The list goes on and on,” Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus argued in a court filing this week, according to The New York Post.

“In each case, the court set reasonable conditions of bond and the defendants appeared, despite similar arguments by the government that the defendant faced serious charges or that the evidence was strong or that he had foreign ties or that he had great wealth,” he added. “Ms. Maxwell is entitled to the same opportunity as male defendants to prepare her defense.”

Maxwell, 59, is currently appealing Judge Alison Nathan’s ruling denying her bail because she feels the former British socialite is a flight risk. She has denied Maxwell bail a total of three times.

Her attorneys went on to claim that Maxwell has been locked up for “over 280 days” in “nightmarish,” “jaw-droppingly appalling conditions” that are more “fitting for Hannibal Lecter.” That’s why they say that she should be released immediately so that she can adequately prepare for her trial.

Maxwell’s lawyers then described her alleged conditions, claiming that guards wake her up every 15 minutes by shining lights “directly into her small cell” and subject her to the constant glare of neon lights and intrusive searches, “including having hands forced into her mouth in a squalid facility where COVID has run rampant.”

“These conditions would support a complaint for cruel and unusual punishment for a convicted felon. Ms. Maxwell is not one,” the motion stated. “She is innocent unless and until she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt — an event which is highly unlikely given the lack of evidence against her.”

The attorneys then alleged that water at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is “often cloudy and is not drinkable” and her food was microwaved with a plastic covering, rendering it “inedible.”

“She is on suicide watch for no reason. She continues to lose weight, her hair, and her ability to concentrate,” the motion stated.

Maxwell was arrested last July on charges related to her allegedly grooming young girls for sex with Epstein, and sometimes taking part in the abuse herself. She has been remanded to federal custody until her trial, which is scheduled for this coming July. b