R. Kelly is trapped in a jail cell.
Lawyers for the embattled former R&B star filed an emergency motion on Thursday arguing he should be released from solitary confinement while awaiting trial on child pornography charges.
Kelly is getting no sunlight, no “meaningful interaction with other humans,” limited email access and is allowed to shower just three times a week, his lawyers said in the motion.
He’s being unfairly targeted because of his charges and because of his celebrity status, his lawyers said.
Kelly is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Chicago after being arrested by federal authorities on child pornography and sex abuse charges in July.
After his arrest, the Bureau of Prisons determined Kelly could not be held in general population at the prison for his own safety, according to the motion.
But when Kelly requested to be transferred out of solitary confinement, BOP said he would not be eligible for a transfer to general population “because of his alleged offence and notoriety,” according to the motion.
Instead of moving him to a number of floors that are available outside of general population, BOP moved Kelly to “the most restrictive floor,” according to his lawyers.
“In essence, even though he has not violated a single BOP rule, Mr Kelly is being unconstitutionally punished and segregated from the rest of the prison population,” they wrote in the motion.
Kelly’s also being denied any access to recreation and fresh air and any access to the prison’s “day room,” where inmates can watch television, the motion states.