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Thursday, 06-May-2004 9:24 AM Press Release ANWAR IBRAHIM - Malaysian Political Prisoner To File New Application for Bail on 10 May 2004 Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, who on 10 May 2004 would have spent his 2,058th day in prison, is to appear in the Federal Court on that day for the final leg of his appeal against a charge of sodomy. In increasingly frail health, he will also make a fresh application for bail to enable him to seek urgently needed medical treatment. Dr Thomas Hoogland's Medical Report on Anwar Ibrahim Surgeon confirms Anwar requires surgery In a controversial move that shocked Malaysians, former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar in September 1998. Anwar was subsequently taken to court to face charges of corruption and sodomy, which he maintains were fabricated in an effort to end his political career. Following two manifestly unjust trials, Anwar was sentenced to a total of 15 years jail on top of the seven months he had already spent in jail during the process of the trial. Anwar has been recognized internationally as a political prisoner. Ambassador-designate Says Anwar Ibrahim's Case Concerns U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Resolution on Anwar Ibrahim - 7-10 June 2003 Anwar Verdict "A Step Backwards": HRW Anwar verdict - A door has opened that cannot be closed: Amnesty International On the night of his arrest, Anwar was savagely assaulted by the Inspector General of Police, resulting in various injuries of which the most serious was a big lumbar disc herniation and cervical spondylosis. He has suffered severe pain for more than three years and now has very limited mobility, being confined to a wheelchair most of the time, and this has led to muscle wasting and general weakness. He receives daily injections of strong painkillers, long use of which has affected his kidneys, resulting in swelling of his feet and hands. As the spinal damage progresses, he faces gradual paralysis and is already losing sensation in his left foot. The authorities have given him only sporadic and mostly rudimentary treatment, very little of it by specialists in a hospital, and this only after repeated demands by Anwar's lawyers or family. Anwar has persistently demanded his right to seek the treatment of his choice at a spinal specialist clinic in Germany. The operation offered there is minimally invasive, using only local anaesthetic, carries less risk and offers a significantly better prognosis than anything available in Malaysia. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has confirmed that there is no legal reason to deny Anwar the chance to seek treatment in Germany, but the Malaysian government, including under new Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi who took office on 1 November 2003, has so far refused the request. On 21 January 2004, three Court of Appeal judges rejected Anwar's initial application for bail (after taking five months to come to their decision), finding that there were "no special circumstances" to grant bail. If this application fails, and he also loses his appeal, Anwar will remain in jail until at least 14 April 2009. Anwar Ibrahim's Appeal Hearing Archives An Archive of News Coverage on Anwar Ibrahim's Trials
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