According to a report in the English newspaper The Sun, German Boris Becker will receive different treatment from his other colleagues in Wandsworth Prison, where he is held for two and a half years on charges of financial fraud.
A source in a tabloid revealed that Baker’s rapid ascent through the prison structure angered other inmates’ family members. Wandsworth Prison Center is known as ‘one of the harshest’ prisons for inmates in the UK.
Baker would have had a privilege early in his imprisonment. Upon arriving at the center, he was quickly transferred to a “friend ward” and then to the foreign prisoners ward.
There he obtained “easy” jobs and soon reached the position of “class assistant” where he teaches physical education theories and the benefits of physical exercise and diets to fellow inmates. The job is considered “comfortable work”.
Then relatives of other prisoners wrote a letter to the prison governor, the source revealed to the newspaper: “It usually takes years for you to get a job as a class assistant, as that is considered a privilege. But Baker got the job. Weeks after the sentencing there is a lot of resentment about this. The subject and the families of some prisoners wrote letters of complaint.
The source acknowledges that life in prison may be different from Baker’s life outside: “It’s not the luxury life he’s used to, but it’s better than most prisoners.”
Lawyers for the 6-time Grand Slam champion have already requested extradition to Germany, which is in progress and should be implemented soon. Becker, referring to The Sun, hopes to be released from prison in the lead-up to Christmas, given the relaxation of German law.
