Jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – who has spent a week in prison – was only given a 2-inch foam mattress on the floor to sleep on, posing a serious risk to his health given his history of back and spine problems, his lawyers said today.
N. Surendran and Latheefa Koya said the PKR de facto leader was also being kept in a bare cell with only a bucket for bathing and a squat toilet.
"Anwar suffers from a long-term back and spine condition, and so the conditions he is being held in are aggravating his spine and back condition and may pose a grave threat to his health.
"At the very least, in line with his medical condition, he must be given a bed and a medically appropriate mattress, a chair and table, a shower and appropriate toilet," they said, adding that Anwar could not bend over or stand up from sitting on the floor without experiencing pain and aggravating his condition.
They said that the Home Ministry and the prison authorities were well aware of Anwar's condition, adding that copies of his medical reports had been supplied to them.
But the lawyers added that despite repeated requests for these basic medical requirements to be met, they had been ignored.
"What is the excuse for not having supplied these urgent requirements over the past week," they said.
The lawyers urged the home minister to treat Anwar according to his needs and called for improvements to be made to his incarceration conditions.
"Damage done to his health, considering his age and current health condition, may be irreparable.
"The government is fully responsible for prisoner of conscience Anwar Ibrahim's safety and health while he remains in custody," the lawyers said.
On Tuesday, the opposition leader was sentenced to jail for five years for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008, after the Federal Court upheld an earlier Court of Appeal decision on his guilty conviction and jail term.
- TMI
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