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Eosg / Central the Secretary-General E 1 t MAR 1 9 2004 Note to Mr. Riza EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL The Secretary-General's letters replying to Anwar Ibrahim and Dr. Wan Azizah As requested, please find attached draft letters from the Secretary-General to Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, and to his wife, Dr. Wan Azizah. Given the sensitive nature of the letters and that this is the first time the Secretary-General is writing to Mr. Ibrahim after his arrest, I suggested that they be delivered discreetly by the Resident Representative in Kuala Lumpur to Dr. Wan Azizah. Danilo Turk 18 March 2004 5. j; ** • IRITY r\ EOSG / CENTRAL THE SECRETARY-GENERAL 22 March 2003 Dear Dr. Wan Azizah, Thank you very much for your letter dated 7 January and your warm wishes expressed therein and for updating me on the legal and medical situation of your husband, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim. While I regret that I could not respond early enough to reciprocate in a timely manner, I nonetheless would like to express my best wishes for this year to you and your family. As you know, I am very much concerned about the state of your husband's health, and sincerely hope that he will be given an early opportunity to receive proper medical treatment. I have urged the authorities in this connection, and will continue to do so. I would be grateful if you would keep me informed of his health situation. Yours sincerely, Kofi A. Annan Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Kuala Lumpur UNllTED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES MICHAEL M0LLER , /"^r kiP o^A -^M -> - rt ' - C - OS/oZ,. 8 g 8 f . HOtut cfaizak 8 QaLan 2/70c&, (BuM <Damiuututi, 50480 Jiuala. Jhunfeur, AN 2 2 2004 ! . EXECUTIVE OFFICE 7 January 2004 I flLfflLSECRETARY-GEMERAL H.E Kofi Annan Secretary General of the United Nations United Nations Ir ? ^0-//-"' i i j^- 313 i- 313 East 42nd Street / — New York, NY 10017 . J U.S.A I Your Excellency, G«+*L Please accept mj/j^armegLMew.Year.wishes to you and all UN employees. May 2004 be a good year for peace and freedom. My husband Anwar Ibrahim joins me in expressing our most heartfelt gratitude for your kind attention and the concern you showed during our meeting in August 2003. Since then, there have been new developments pertaining to his legal battle and his health. Anwar has served the mandatory portion of the six-year sentence that was meted out "five years ago by the judge who found him guilty of corruption and the second case is still under appeal, but he is already started serving the 9-year sentence imposed by the trial judge. Both charges are as you know, politically motivated. The second case went through the Appeal Court, with predictable results, and is yet to go to the Federal Court for the final appeal. However, there is error in the grounds given in dismissing the appeal. The panel of three AppeaTjudges held that, the defence did not serve a notice of alibi. The Judges maintained this despite the fact that the prosecution concurred with the defence that the notice was indeed served. To enlightened Malaysians, this was yet another proof of the judiciary's subservience to the executive branch of government. However, our main worry is the long wait for the decision on our application^ for. bai]. The accepted practice is to grant bail to the accused until ail appeals are exhausted. But when it comes to Anwar Ibrahim, of course, accepted practice never applies. He applied for bail last July and. now, more than half a year later, is stil! awaiting the court's decision, which prompted a respected retired judge to comment publicly that the decision in the lesser courts in other cases, could have been reached in less than 30 minutes/ You are, of course, aware that my husband is suffering from severe back pain due to a spinal injury sustained when he was assaulted while under police custody. The . * .-.„•---. -.••' ..«' ..-......--, . - . , - . 4, _ _ -v^,..>al .MtJ * Malaysian Government has persisted in giving the perception to the public that Anwar is in relative good health and how well he is being treated as a prisoner. Currently, he ir. supposed to be receiving the best medical care in the country ynu even given access to a fully equipped gymnasium nexi to his cell. This was vL o Parliament reported to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which met in Geneva, in September 2003. The truth is that the only piece of equipment in the so-called gymnasium is an exercise bed and two dumb bells. Since his incarcejat|pji^jmy^usbandjhiasjwt_been^giyen proper medical attention in of his_compj.aints of^noTjml^^^xcmcjiatmg^^am. Instead of sending hirfffo hospital, the prison gives him painkillers twice a day. The side effects of his prolonged dependence on those drugs are quite frightening. We notice during our prison visits that his hands and feet are swollen._ •~™^~~"---~~~^.-~.~,~~^, Finally responding to continuous pressure from Anwar, our family and supporters, the government on December 30, 2003 sent a physician, Dr. Jayaindran Sennadurai, to prison to examine him and assess his condition. Dr Jayaindran is not a spine specialist and is not fully qualified to make a prognosis on Anwar's spinal injury. Still, he submitted a report to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Minister of Health, stating that Anwar was fine and not at all at risk. However, the prison authorities exercised their discretion and summoned an Orthopedic Surgeon to examine Anwar for a second opinion. On January 4, the surgeon, Dr Mazwar Sofiyan, examined Anwar and reported that his problem was complex and that he needed to be sent to hospital, not only for physiotherapy sessions, but also for repeat Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans. The MRI scan showed that my husband had suffered further damage to his spine though the old lesion was stable. In view of the above and considering that the Mr Abdullah Badawi is now the prime Minister and^a former Foreign Minister, he therefore holds the UN in high regard. I appeal to Your Excellency to enhance your efforts to ensure that my husband is accorded his basic right to medical treatment, as proclaimed under UN Resolution 45/111. Your kind attention is very much appreciated. Thank you. Yours sincerely, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail THE SECRETARY-GENERAL 22 March 2004 Dear Mr. Ibrahim, Thank you very much for your letter and the report prepared by the Asian Dialogue Society on the political realities in Myanmar. The recommendations contained in the report are very pertinent and useful for my future efforts and those of my Special Envoy, Mr. Razali. I have emphasized from the start that the seven-step roadmap announced by the Myanmar Government last August should be implemented in a transparent and all-inclusive manner. Only then would the process for democratic transition in the country be truly credible, and accepted by all the parties concerned. To that end, my Special Envoy and I are working hard to secure the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials of the National League for Democracy at an early date. I remain concerned about the state of your health. I received a letter in January from your wife, Dr. Wan Azizah, briefing me on your condition. I sincerely hope that you are given an early opportunity to receive proper medical treatment, and will continue to do my best to urge the authorities in this regard. Yours sincerely, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim Kuala Lumpur UNITED NATIONsf|||P NATIONS UNIES Executive Office of the Secretary-General Cabinet du Secretaire general *, . TL^ rig.oc^u. rb_ iJhaCy y^ 'ft? I g>f~ -TfU-Ply- CjVTl'gr fJLjsCii-ti.dr ^(r>r-v ^h-^^Jg ifel rps-cJtrvo-V ^rOJr~t*fffa . <*A V frg^ Ly/'cj/ \AJ>$~£' ~Q*~QJ~ -f£ju? f*Q_ ML Ji ^EoJ 3T -A- ^ cj^^ o ix Cgiu ^^'^^ Q^Q-ft; ^Ox. J^ -^ -0-^r*'—?~ tf t>XiK i CT <" J>l C?J\ No:. Date:. */ vf fg-flgsvj— <lar.iJ7_gy 4^ ^ -X- ^ 1r ^Y it. T^IU r/; ottr ^ "Y Q T /.
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