Jailed Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim's family has lodged an appeal against the prison director's decision to deny physical contact during jail visits.
Anwar, his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, their four children and four grandchildren filed the application on Wednesday for a judicial review of the decision by Sungai Buloh prison authorities.
The family named Sungai Buloh prison director Commissioner-General of Prisons and Home Minister as respondents, the court papers showed.
The application filed by counsel N Surendran and Latheefa Koya seeks an order quashing the prison director's decision that bans physical contact between Anwar and his family members.
Anwar claimed that under the prison rules he was allowed visits from his family once in every three weeks and the communication with them was done via a telephone. "During these visits, my family is made to sit across from me. We are separated by a glass partition. This partition allows no physical contact between myself and my family," said Anwar.
Anwar and his family members have said that the denial of physical contact was unnecessary, cruel and oppressive.
Anwar is serving a five years' jail sentence after he was found guilty of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
