Boyfriend of British woman jailed in Egypt tells of his heartbreak as shocking pictures reveal 'horrendous' conditions inside overcrowded prison where she'll serve her time

  • Brit jailed for theft revealed 'horrendous' conditions at Cairo's al-Qanater prison 
  • Pete Farmer says violence is rife and cells had up to 30 people crammed inside
  • Laura Plummer's lawyer has now confirmed she would be sent to the prison 
  • Her 31-year-old lifeguard boyfriend Omar Abdul Azim said 'my heart is broken' 

The boyfriend of a British woman jailed for taking painkillers into Egypt has spoken of his heartbreak as pictures emerged of the squalid prison where she will do her time.

Laura Plummer, a shop assistant from Hull, was detained after arriving at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada in October with 290 Tramadol pills in her luggage, which her husband revealed was for his bad back.

Now Omar Abdul Azim, 31, a lifeguard, told the Mirror: 'You don't know how much I love her and how upset I am. My heart is broken.' 

Laura Plummer, a shop assistant from Hull, was detained after arriving at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada in October with 290 Tramadol pills in her luggage, which her husband revealed was for his bad back

Pete Farmer, 45, has revealed the conditions inside al-Qanater jail in Egypt where he believes fellow Briton Laura Plummer will be sent after she was jailed for smuggling painkillers (pictured left is Mr Farmer's overcrowded cell, while right is the shower the men shared)

The couple met four years ago at the Hilton hotel in Sharks Bay, near Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was working as a lifeguard and Miss Plummer was on holiday. 

Mr Azim was speaking as Plummer's Egyptian lawyer Mohamed Osman confirmed that she would be soon be sent to al-Qanater prison in Cairo.

The news that she will be sent to the prison comes as a Briton jailed in Egypt for theft has revealed the 'horrendous' conditions inside the jail.

Pete Farmer, 45, served his time at the prison in al-Qanater which he says is rife with violence and disease.

Up to 30 people are crammed into each tiny cell, he said, and are forced to share a single shower while the toilet is just a hole in the ground. 

He says disease was rife, with up to 30 people crammed into each cell sharing a single shower and toilet which was little more than a hole in the ground

He says disease was rife, with up to 30 people crammed into each cell sharing a single shower and toilet which was little more than a hole in the ground

Mr Farmer was locked up for two years for robbery when he says he accidentally picked up the wrong bag in a pub.

The DJ - who had worked in Sharm El Sheikh for 11 years - was released in November. 

Photographs he took on a smuggled phone show the cramped cells, dirty toilets and the tiny window.  

Miss Plummer is currently in Qena prison but Pete said all foreign female prisoners serving sentences similar to hers are transferred to al-Qanater prison - where he stayed. 

Speaking from Essex, where he is staying with family, Pete said: 'No one deserves that sort of punishment.

'I'm a man and I just got through my sentence. For her as a woman - my heart bleeds for her.

'The conditions are absolutely horrendous. Disease is rife, there are cockroaches and lice and bedbugs.

'It is very, very violent. I can recall being in a line and seeing people being beaten and burned on their private parts with cattle prods. 

'In my cell there were four sets of bunk beds, each three levels high - so that's 12 people - with another 15 to 18 on the floor.

Mr Farmer was jailed for two years for theft, claiming he picked up the wrong bag in a club where he was DJing by mistake

He said the food was fly-infested, and left out all day in the sun. During his time inside he dropped about a stone in weight

He said the food was fly-infested, and left out all day in the sun. During his time inside he dropped about a stone in weight

The prison was in a bad state of disrepair, he said (left), while the cell had only a single small window giving contact with the outside world

'Egypt is a beautiful country but it is the levels of corruption which are disgusting.'

Pete moved out to Egypt in 2004 to work as a club DJ, and also ran a radio station and record label.

He was on a night off in November 2015 when he claims a drawstring bag - identical to one he and thousands of tourists had out there - was placed at his feet.

Mistaking it for his own, he picked it up and headed home, but was awoken by the police knocking on his door, he said.

They accused him of robbery and after checking the bag he realised his mistake and handed it back.

Left is a light that Mr Farmer constructed out of a Pringles can, while right he is pictured on his bunk inside jail

But police took him to the station, charged him with the crime, and after around three months he was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison.

Photos show the horrific conditions he endured, with beds stacked high to the ceiling and filthy rags draped from the railings offering the only privacy.

Another photo shows a homemade lamp he made using a Pringles tube and cup hooked up to a bare wire, and the flip flops he wore for two years.

The shower in his room was shared by up to 30 people and the toilet was a hole in the floor.

He lived off food brought in by visitors - rather than eating the fly-ridden prison food served from three communal barrels he said were left in the sun all day.

Pete got through his ordeal by reading endless books circulated among inmates, and writing to the two other British inmates, in letters delivered by the prison pastor.

Miss Plummer has been sentenced to three years for smuggling Tramadol tablets, which are legal in the UK but banned in Egypt, into the country in her suitcase

Miss Plummer has been sentenced to three years for smuggling Tramadol tablets, which are legal in the UK but banned in Egypt, into the country in her suitcase

He was not allowed to make any phone calls or send or receive any outside letters, and was only allowed to have visitors every two weeks.

'Our cell was opened between 10am and 3pm,' he recalled. 'But the women's cells are not opened for that length of time.

'The whole experience really took its toll on my health.

'I lost about a stone and I lost teeth, suffered gum disease and chest problems.

'I witnessed regular beatings.

'I never saw rapes - but I heard one man being raped. Violence is rife and there are a lot of razor blades which are used to slash peoples' faces.

'It was absolutely horrendous.'

Pete was released on November 9 and flew back four days later, refusing to believe he was really free until his flight took off.

'It was only when all the wheels were off the ground I really believed I would be ok,' he said.

He claims police emptied his bank account of £2,000 while he was locked up and took all his belongings - apart from his beloved hard drive containing all his music, which a friend rescued.

He said he has been supporting the family of Laura Plummer by telling them what she can expect, and offering advice.

He said she is likely to end up in the same prison because it has a women's wing and houses most foreign inmates.

'I've told them my experience - good and bad,' he said.

'I've been through it and I'm really worried about her.

'Unfortunately Egypt is a man's world and women get treated like rubbish - no place more than in prison.' 

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