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 After a Brazilian judge refused to grant them bail two British law graduates accused of insurance fraud are being held in a prison in Brazil together with murderers and drug-traffickers . Shanti Andrews and Rebecca Turner, both 23, have been imprisoned at the Polinter de Mesquita prison in Rio de Janeiro for the past five days for allegedly making false claims to police about a robbery. They told Police that their bags had been stolen in Copacabana, in the South zone of Rio.
The women had hoped to be released on bail on Friday. But a judge at Rio's 27th Criminal Court ordered they stay behind bars until their trial because they are foreigners, their lawyer said.
It means the friends will be forced to endure cramped and dangerous conditions until their trial, which could be weeks away.
Their legal team had expected they would be freed and face a lesser charge of making a false claim, which is punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine. But state prosecutors charged them with insurance fraud, which carries a maximum five-year jail term.
Judge Flávio Itabaiana made the ruling behind closed doors while the two graduates remained in the filthy, rat-infested prison conditions
It is understood he feared the tourists could flee Brazil - despite having their passports confiscated - as he believed the British Embassy could provide them with new passports or other travel documents.
The women's lawyer, Renato Tonini, said: "This is very bad news for my clients. The prosecutors have charged them with the more serious offense, and the judge has refused them bail. He said it was because they are foreigners and so there is a serious risk they might leave the country.
"We believe it is the wrong decision by the judge and we are going to appeal to a higher court.
"The women were not in court for the ruling and they do not yet know about it.
"Unless we win on appeal it means they will remain in prison until the trial, which could be weeks away." A second court date is understood to be scheduled for next week. The prison is in Baixada Fluminense, a rundown district on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. They are sleeping in a corridor without mattresses because of overcrowding and are surrounded by murderers and drug-traffickers.
Their parents have issued pleas for mercy and the local British consulate has also been attempting to have them released from the prison, which has been condemned by human-rights activists.
Gang violence and murder is common, with foreigners thought to be particularly at risk.
According to Brazil's legislation, inmates with a college diploma have the right to special lodging in prison, far from the common prisoners. Some reports, however, says that the girls were not able to prove that they have graduate in Law.
Andrews and Turner were arrested after telling police they had been robbed of more than 1,000 British pounds (US$ 1,669) of goods during a bus trip.
Suspicious officers went to their hostel and apparently discovered some of the items under their beds, including a £240 (US$ 400) mobile phone, a £450 (US$ 750) digital camera, a £600 (US$ 1,000) iPod and a £60 (US$ 100) white bag, all of which the women had claimed were stolen.
The women, both of whom graduated from the University of Sussex in law in 2007, maintain they were robbed but made a mistake as they reported the crime to police.
They were coming to the end of a nine-month world tour of 30 countries when they were arrested.
Speaking at the family's large detached home in Frant, near Tunbridge Wells, Shanti's mother, Simone Healey, 39, said the two girls were "absolutely traumatized".
She added: "It's every mother's worst nightmare."
Update:
The Brazilian judge who had ruled to keep the girls in jail has now overturned his earlier decision allowing them to post bail and wait for their trial in a hotel in Rio.
MP/Bzz
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