Joran van der Sloot, the infamous convicted murderer, recently became the subject of rumors about an alleged prison assault. Maximo Altez, Van der Sloot’s legal representative, has now released a video to Fox News Digital in an attempt to quash these rumors.
The rumors started circulating after reports suggested that Van der Sloot, who was responsible for the deaths of American teenager Natalee Holloway and Peruvian socialite Stephany Flores, was the target of a violent encounter in prison. The hearsay suggested that Van der Sloot had to visit the prison’s medical facility for treatment after this supposed inmate altercation.
In response to these rumors, Altez provided a short video clip to Fox News Digital. The video, which is approximately 41 seconds long, shows Van der Sloot and other inmates of his prison football team, “La Naranja Mecanica” — which translates to “The Clockwork Orange” in English — entering a gymnasium. The noticeable height and demeanor of Van der Sloot in the video seem to contradict the claims of him being a victim of a serious physical attack.
The National Penitentiary Institute of Peru had earlier confirmed to the Post that two men did indeed attack Van der Sloot. However, they mentioned that Van der Sloot was not facing any disciplinary action as he was not the instigator in the incident.
According to Emil Quinones, a former inmate who was incarcerated with Van der Sloot in Alabama, the convicted murderer is arrogant and assertive. Quinones stated that Van der Sloot’s behavior in prison has earned him the animosity of many inmates.
Van der Sloot is currently serving his sentence in the infamous Challapalca prison in Peru. The high-altitude prison is known for its harsh conditions and is a place that Altez has said his client despises.
Van der Sloot was finally able to admit, in October, that he killed Holloway using a cinder block on a beach in Aruba in 2005. This confession was part of an extortion and fraud case in which he attempted to blackmail Holloway’s mother for $250,000.
Five years after the Holloway incident, Van der Sloot killed Flores in a hotel room located in her father’s casino in Lima. For this crime, he was sentenced to prison in Peru.
As part of an international plea deal, Van der Sloot is serving his sentence for the U.S. charges for extorting Holloway’s mother in Peru.
Living conditions in the Challapalca prison are far from ideal. The prison is located in a remote location where the temperature frequently drops below freezing at night. It is so isolated that there is no cell service.
In 2014, Altez reported that Van der Sloot was stabbed three times in prison. Prison officials, however, claimed the wounds appeared to be self-inflicted. Additionally, Van der Sloot had his Peruvian sentence extended after he was implicated in a drug and phone smuggling scandal.
While the statute of limitations on Holloway’s murder has expired in Aruba, the authorities there have not ruled out the possibility of prosecuting Van der Sloot for the crime.
