A wealthy hotelier has been thrown in a 'hell hole' prison on the island of Zanzibar after being charged for money laundering. Simon Wood, 51, is currently in prison with 200 dangerous inmates after he was arrested along with his wife Francesca Scalfari, 45, just over two weeks ago.
According to his family, Simon's head has been shaved and he is being denied basic needs like access to water - and relatives haven't been allowed into the jail to see them. Simon was taken to custody on the island which is in the Indian Ocean off the coast of east Africa.
According to Lancs Live, those close to the couple claim their arrest is linked to lawsuits brought against them by ex-investors in their hotel, The Sharazad Boutique, dating back to 2017. But as these matters were later settled in favour of Simon and Francesca.
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They say they're now "at a loss" to explain why new criminal charges arose earlier this month. Under local laws, prisoners can be kept in jail for eight month without trial, and Simon’s mum, Christine Wood, from Preston, is "concerned" for his welfare.
She said: “I am very concerned for my son Simon and his Italian wife Francesca who are starting their third week of imprisonment in Zanzibar. Now they have been accused of money laundering but are at a loss to know why. For them, paradise has quickly turned to hell and until the court declares them 'not guilty' they remain in jail.”
Francesca’s uncle Jim Betteridge, 62, a British ex-pat living in Tuscany, Italy, added Simon and Francesca are being kept in “primitive” conditions. He said: “A hell hole would be a fairly accurate description. There’s no food or water provided, they have to buy their water – and any food that’s brought in is poked around and probed by the guards.
“It’s very hot in there, full of mosquitos and it’s not somewhere where you’d want to see your worst enemy, frankly. To call it primitive would be complimentary.”
Jim explained Simon, originally from Preston, had arrived on the beautiful island 20 years ago, where he met his future wife, Francesca, and had their son, Luca, 11. The archipelago, which falls under the jurisdiction of Tanzania, is famed for its warm weather and soft sandy beaches - and attracts roughly 500,000 tourists a year.
The pair later decided to turn their beachside home into a 30-room boutique hotel, with £200-a-night ocean view villas, a restaurant and swimming pool. He said: “Another Italian couple who are involved in NGOs on the mainland invested money with them and became partners, and they created the hotel together.”
Jim said the couple, who own multiple businesses on the island and employ roughly 60 people, were suddenly arrested by police on June 7 and thrown in a local jail where they've been kept ever since.
The couple made their first appearance in court yesterday (June 22) and were charged with money laundering - believed to carry a maximum penalty of 20 years. And Jim says while their families are being assisted by officials from both Italy and Britain, the couple are suffering due to the awful conditions in their separate jails.
He said: “They’ve both lost weight and are evidently uncomfortable and upset, obviously. The jail is ramshackle to put it mildly. Simon is in a series of rooms with 200 convicted prisoners and is sleeping on the floor on a mattress.
“Francesca is in a room with about 20 people. They had no water for two days and two nights – and you can only imagine what that would do for one person, let alone 20.”
Jim insists the pair could prove their innocence, but says this is hard to achieve as they're currently unable to get bail. It's understood the president of Zanzibar, Hussein Mwinyi, will attend a local investment forum today (June 23) where he could receive criticism for the couple's detainment
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson confirmed they were assisting a British national currently jailed in Tanzania, but declined to give any further details.
They said: “We are supporting a British National detained in Tanzania and are in contact with the local authorities."
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