Uthayakumar barred from meeting family, lawyers

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) de facto leader P Uthayakumar was yesterday barred by the police from meeting his lawyer and family members in the court despite obtaining the court's permission to do so.

Uthayakumar's lawyer M Manoharan said the High Court deputy registrar had granted the family time with his client, who was in court yesterday for case management.

However, after proceedings were concluded, he was whisked away by several police personnel before he could meet his wife S Indra Devi ( left ), Manoharan and another lawyer, Aftar Singh Dhaliwal.

"An police inspector from the Kajang Prison, along with seven or eight policeman, dragged him harshly away from us. They were pushing him and they were very rough.

"They are going to quarantine him for eight days in the section with the other hardcore criminals. It is a cramped place," Indra Devi told Malaysiakini .

Manoharan said that he was contemplating possible contempt proceedings against the prison authorities.

Meanwhile, both Indra Devi and Manoharan expressed concern over the eight-day quarantine that will be enforced on Uthayakumar following his court appearance.

Manoharan explained that all detainees would be put into quarantine after their return from court, which would mean that Uthayakumar would not be placed in the medical block.

Uthayakumar suffers from a string of ailments, including a prolapsed disc, and is currently appealing against his two-and-a-half years' jail sentence for breaching the sedition law.

He was convicted by the Sessions Court for publishing seditious words in his petition to then British prime minister Gordon Brown in 2007 to highlight the mistreatment of Indians in Malaysia.