The Borneo Post

Anwar fails in challengin­g prison order over physical contact

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PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his family once again failed in their challenge of a decision by the Sungai Buloh Prison director disallowin­g him to have physical contact with family members during their visits to the prison instead of being separated by a glass screen and speaking only through the telephone.

This follows the Court of Appeal’s dismissal yesterday of the appeal brought by Anwar and his family against the High Court’s refusal of their judicial review applicatio­n over Anwar’s right to have physical contact with his family.

A three-member panel of judges, comprising Justices Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi, Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Datuk Suraya Othman, held that the appeal brought by Anwar and nine other appellants had no merit.

Justice Ahmadi said the letter of the Sungai Buloh Prison Director, dated March 14, 2016, rejecting Anwar and his family’s request to have physical contact during visits was reasonable as it did not contravene the prison rules.

“The letter states that it would consider the request on a case- by- case basis. Hence, this is not unreasonab­le and disproport­ionate. We are of the view that there is no merit in the appeal by the appellants. We dismiss the appeal with no order as to costs,” said Justice Ahmadi.

The panel made the ruling after hearing submission­s from lawyer N Surendran, representi­ng the appellants, and Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, acting for the Sungai Buloh Prison Director, the Prisons Commission­er- General and the Home Minister, the respondent­s.

Besides Anwar, 70, the other appellants were his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 65, and their four daughters, Nurul Izzah, 37, Nurul Nuha, 34, Nurul Ilham, 30, and Nurul Iman, 27, Nurul Izzah’s sons, Raja Nur Safiyah Raja Ahmad Shahrir Iskandar, 11, and Raja Ahmad Harith, nine; and Nurul Nuha’s sons, Sulaimaan Mohamad Khairul and Yahya, aged six and five, respective­ly.

They sought an order to revoke a decision made on March 14, 2016, by the Sungai Buloh Prison Director in not allowing Anwar to have physical contact with family members during their visits to the prison.

They claimed that during the visits, they were separated by a glass screen and could only speak with each other through the telephone.

Anwar, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence after being found guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, is allowed visitors once in three weeks. He is expected to be released from prison on June 8, 2018.

In a letter, dated March 2, 2016, sent through his solicitor to the three respondent­s, Anwar applied to be allowed to have physical contact with his family members during their visits but it was rejected by the Sungai Buloh Prison Director in the letter dated March 14, 2016.

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