The truth about my sister, Ghislaine Maxwell | The Spectator 3/5/24, 11:45 PM

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Ian Maxwell

The truth about my sister,

Ghislaine Maxwell
16 December 2021, 3:50pm

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T
he mainstream media’s pronunciation of my sister’s name has been
about as accurate as their coverage of her. No, it’s not ‘Jizlaine’, it’s

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The truth about my sister, Ghislaine Maxwell | The Spectator

‘Giilen’. Firmly a French name, it was my mother, Betty’s riposte to my

3/5/24, 11:45 PM

father’s choice of the name Kevin for my younger brother.

My mother is all too o!en written out of the Maxwell story but in fact she was
the major in"uence on all our lives. #at’s partly because of her loving nature
but also because my father was so seldom present in our childhood. He was an
incessant traveller and his many interests kept him away.

Betty was determined to maintain our French identities. We all have dual British
and French nationality and that’s why, if Ghislaine had had any thought she
might be arrested, she could have le! a!er Epstein died and gone to France
from where there is no extradition to America.

Whilst my mother gave us all the security and love that has welded us together
as a family, my father provided the discipline. He was a hugely courageous
soldier in the British army and fought the most gruelling battles of the war from
the Normandy beaches to Berlin for which he was conferred the Military Cross.

Bob was a survivor. He was also a man of profound inner

sorrow having lost his parents and most of his family in
Auschwitz, the pain of which he carried with him all his
life. He survived by developing a thick carapace combined We all have intense
with relentless self-promotion but underneath he was sympathy for those
forever grieving. who are victims of
In our di$erent ways we have all inherited Bob’s survivor abuse — yet
gene. #e vile conditions in the Metropolitan Detention throughout the trial,
Centre are well documented: the rats, the poor sanitation,
being woken every 15 minutes with a torch shone in her
Ghislaine has been
eyes. But as awful as it is, it’s not Auschwitz. Ghislaine loudly maligned
knows that.

She has now survived over 500 days of e$ective solitary isolation in that evil
place. But she’s weakened, drained and hollowed out. Two of my siblings who
have supported her in court have told me they no longer recognise the pin
sharp, smart sister we all once knew

Bad food, lack of hygiene and poor ventilation are common for many prisoners.
Add in the isolation and unjusti%ed suicide watch regime, the estimated 3,500
pat downs and intrusive strip searches she has been forced to endure (some of
which she has reported), the obstacles she still faces in reviewing legal papers,
plus the multiple irrational denials of bail, Ghislaine is su$ering an
abominable abuse of her human rights.

In condemnation of this unrelenting treatment, our family has lodged a

complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

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The truth about my sister, Ghislaine Maxwell | The Spectator 3/5/24, 11:45 PM

Our father’s death apart, Ghislaine was born to tragedy. Forty-eight hours a!er
her birth on Christmas Day 1961 our oldest brother Michael, then aged 15, was
all but killed when the car he was a passenger in collided with a lorry in thick
fog. He was House
Coffee in a comaPolitics
for seven years and died
Economy in 1968.Culture
World Life Magazine
As a result Ghislaine, who should have been the centre of my parent’s attention
as their newest child, was hardly given a glance so profound was their grief. One
day when she was about three, she planted herself in front of our mother and
said simply ‘Mummy, I exist’. Betty swept her up in her arms and hugged her,
never letting her feel abandoned again.

Much has been made of our father’s in"uence on Ghislaine but our mother’s was
much more signi%cant. In the Address given by Oxford’s former vice chancellor
Sir Colin Lucas at her memorial service in 2013, he talked about: ‘Her code of
personal conduct, loyalty, conscience, duty… above all, in addition to courage
she had great energy, tenacity, determination, promptness and shrewd
intelligence’. #ese are attributes Ghislaine has developed in her own life. #ey
have stood her in good stead and will continue to do so I’m sure.

Now, for the past 18 months the Epstein scandal has dominated the media.
Fuelled by their shame and fury at losing Epstein in federal custody the
authorities instead targeted my sister. #ey then staged a dramatic arrest and
trial that e$ectively pronounced her guilty to millions of Americans before any
evidence was called.

We all have intense sympathy for those who are victims of abuse — yet
throughout the trial, Ghislaine has been loudly maligned. #ese detractors
include those who have not been called as witnesses and whose claims have not
been tested in court under oath.

During the trial, certain media accounts have suggested that the prosecution has
fumbled its case. But this is to perpetuate the trope of Ghislaine’s guilt in the
court of public opinion. #is narrative does not admit the possibility that the
government has simply not had the evidence.

WRITTEN BY

Ian Maxwell

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TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE

Society World Ghislaine Maxwell Jeffrey Epstein

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