Let Uthaya visit ailing mother, gov't told

The Home Ministry and prison authorities have been urged to allow Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee and Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar to visit his ailing mother.

In a statement today, Uthayakumar's elder brother and Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy said prison authorities should show compassion and allow Uthayakumar to visit their mother, K Kalaivaniy.

Waythamoorthy, who is in self-exile in London, said Kalaivaniy, 64, was recovering from an illness at home and was not fit to travel to Kamunting to visit Uthayakumar for Deepavali.

According to Waythamoorthy, Kalaivaniy was warded in a hospital for eight days from Nov 12 to 19 due to hypertension, high blood sugar levels and gall bladder illness.

"Repeated requests were made to the Kamunting Detention Centre upon her admission to inform her son and request for permission for Uthaya to visit his mother but to no avail," said Waythamoorthy.

He added that Uthayakumar was only informed of Kalaivaniy's admission to hospital on Nov 16 when he was visited by his fiancée S Indra Devi.

'Bedridden mother not spared'
Following this, Waythamoorthy alleged that four police officers from special branch visited Kalaivaniy at the hospital where she was warded between Nov 18 and 19.

The purpose of the visit was to allegedly ascertain if Kalaivaniy was really Uthayakumar's mother. Nurses who were attending to her were also allegedly interviewed by the police officers.

"What is the relevance of this? If this is not intimidation and harassment, then I really don't know what this is," Waythamoorthy said.

"Even Uthaya's bedridden mother was not spared by these callous government agents as she was questioned and asked if she wanted her son to visit her."

Uthayakumar and four others were arrested under the ISA for two years on Dec 13 last year.

malaysiakini
21/11/08