Pregnant prisoner alleges mistreatment
Nathalie Gettliffe is due to give birth any day not far from the place she calls a "safari" and in which her partner suggests she's been beaten and denied medical treatment.
Gettliffe has been housed at Maple Ridge's Alouette Correctional Centre for Women since May. She was arrested in April when she returned to B.C. to defend her PhD dissertation on allegations that she kidnapped her own children and spirited them away to France.
Her trial has been delayed until after the birth of her child.
Francis Gruzelle, Gettliffe's partner and the father of their unborn child informed a French television station that while in the Maple Ridge jail, Gettliffe had been beaten by other inmates and denied medical help.
In June, Gettliffe herself wrote a letter to Gruzelle that was later translated into English and posted on a website dedicated to lobbying for her release. Within the letter, she condemns Surrey Pre-Trial Centre, calls Alouette a "safari," and suggests that even though pregnant, she's been denied adequate food and medical attention.
Gettliffe goes on to write that she's "not the first victim of the 'legal' terrorism in the British Columbian justice system."
Corrections spokesman Bruce Bannerman, however, says that every inmate has the opportunity to launch a formal complaint.
Once the complaint is lodged, he says, "we would be able to deal with it at either the local level," or, he says, if need be, through the office of the ombudsman.
"We like to pride ourselves that we treat our inmates with respect and we provide a full range of services to all offenders."
Gettliffe faces up to 10 years on charges of child abduction. It is alleged that she stole her children away from their Canadian father during a custody dispute.
Gettliffe's reason for removing her children to France surrounded her ex-husband's involvement in the International Church of Christ, which, while recognized in Canada, is considered a cult in France.
Bannerman says that while in prison, inmates are treated to the same level of medical care as is offered in the community.
When Gettliffe goes into active labour, he explained, she'll be transferred out to an appropriate medical facility.
Once the baby is born, he added, the decision surrounding whether or not to keep the mother and child together in the prison "will be made in consultation with the offender and the other agencies...any decision on that is always done in the best interest of the child."
