Lawyers seek house arrest for Anwar due to worsening health

KUALA LUMPUR — Citing jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s deteriorating health and inadequate access to medical treatment in prison, his lawyers yesterday urged the government to allow him to be placed under house arrest instead of remaining in prison.

Anwar has lost 6kg since the start of his jail sentence in February, according to a joint statement yesterday by Anwar’s lawyers, Mr Sivarasa Rasiah and Mr Jared Genser. Anwar is also suffering from a host of medical issues, including irregular blood pressure, abnormal kidney growth, gastritis, chronic arthritis and a shoulder muscle tear.

Arguing that he needs to be placed on a strict gluten-free diet and attend intensive physiotherapy, Anwar’s lawyers have urged the government to place him under house arrest instead, so he can visit his doctors for treatment.

“It is urgent that he be transferred immediately to house arrest, so he can be permitted to visit his own doctors for regular medical care and treatment,” said the lawyers.

“The international community should be alarmed by Anwar’s deteriorating health, which has been greatly exacerbated by his being denied access to required care and facilities while he has been wrongly detained,” the statement added.

In response, Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday ordered that Anwar be given appropriate treatment for his medical conditions.

“I take note of (Anwar’s) health and I want the relevant authorities to ensure that he receives the appropriate treatment,” Mr Najib said in a post on Twitter.

Anwar was imprisoned for six years after being ousted as Deputy Prime Minister in 1998, on earlier charges of sodomy and abuse of power. He was freed in 2004, after Malaysia’s top court quashed the sodomy conviction, which was widely seen as politically motivated, as it came at a time when he was locked in a power struggle with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The opposition leader’s current sentence began on Feb 10, after he lost a final appeal against a sodomy charge in 2008, which was also widely viewed as politically motivated so as to eliminate any threat to the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, whose popularity has been waning since 2008. AGENCIES