K Mageswari, whose husband was among hunger strikers at the Simpang Renggam detention centre in Johor, has managed to visit him after an initial attempt failed last Wednesday.

She was allowed to see her husband, Michael Soosai, when she went back to the centre last Friday.

"I saw him for about 30 minutes but we could not speak much because there were a few prison officers present very near by. He had not stopped his hunger strike, but looked extremely weak and had difficulty walking," she said when contacted today.

He has been detained since April 29 under the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance, which allows detention of persons for two years to preserve public order and prevent violence.

Although the Johor Baru High Court had ordered him to be freed on Oct 20, Soosai was re-arrested by the police when he left the detention centre the same day.

Meeting minister

Mageswari and her lawyer M Manoharan have an appointment at 2pm today with Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar, to make a case for her husband's immediate release.

"The arrest order used for his re-arrest had the same charge and grounds as the first arrest order (which the court rejected). We want the deputy minister to respect the court's decision and release him immediately," said Manoharan.

He said an assurance would be sought that Soosai will not be re-arrested, and for the ministry to stop pleading ignorance when 'errors' are committed in issuing arrest orders.

"They cannot use the excuse (like in this case) that the order was signed by a different internal security minister. You are disrespecting the courts if you ignore their decisions. We will have to take further action if our requests are turned down," he said.