Graduates who claimed for items not stolen will not go to jail
Renato Tonini, lawyer for Shanti Andrews and Rebecca Turner, the British law graduates charged with attempted insurance fraud in Brazil says they are unlikely to return to prison, the BBC reports.
The women, both 23, claim they were robbed but police from a specialist tourist unit then uncovered some of the “stolen” items in their Rio de Janeiro hostel room.
They were arrested and held in jail but freed on bail on Saturday ahead of the court appearance on Wednesday.
Tonini said: "I'm very confident that they will not be going back to prison. Even if they are convicted, I think a fine would solve the problem."
Judge hints at freedom
The Telegraph said the judge hearing the case had hinted prison was unlikely. "In the hypothesis of an eventual guilty verdict, the imposition of a custodial sentence is a remote possibility," said Judge Sergio Varani on releasing them.
The Mail claims the pair had to sleep in corridors, rather than cells, of a “rat-infested”, overcrowded Polinter Women's Prison where they mixed with killers and drug addicts.
Claim was a “mistake”
The parents of the girls say they claimed for items not stolen by mistake. Andrews's mother Simone said: “Maybe they deserve a slap on the wrist for this. But they are not criminals.”
