Family members of ISA detainee Dr Badrul Amin Bahron have pleaded with the home ministry for his immediate release o­n health grounds - the reformasi activist has high blood pressure.

Badrul's wife Zumrah Husni said her husband activist should be released not o­nly o­n health grounds, but also because it has been over two years since his arrest o­n April 20, 2001.

'Torture camp'

"The (period for which he has been detained without trial) is extremely unreasonable. The detention order is based o­nly o­n allegations that he may have made seditious political speeches," Zumrah told malaysiakini today.

She said a doctor had advised Badrul against going to the Kuala Lumpur sessions court this morning, where he and three other reformasi activists accused of illegal assembly were to have their case mentioned.

"I met my husband briefly yesterday before he went for a second check-up at the Taiping hospital. o­n Friday when he was last referred to the hospital for a check-up, they found that his blood pressure at that time was 166/115," she said.

Zumrah said Badrul was diagnosed with high blood pressure as early as April 2002 when he embarked o­n a hunger strike to protest his second arrest under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

"His blood pressure was found to measure 145/110 (bps) at that time although he had not eaten for over a week," she said.

(The normal count for an adult should measure approximately 120/80 mm Hg. A consistent blood pressure reading of 140/90 mm Hg or higher is consider high blood pressure.)

Asked if her husband had been warded at the Kamunting camp clinic, Zumrah said that, to date, Badrul had o­nly been referred to the Taiping Hospital for further check-ups.

"The doctor (at Taiping hospital) has advised my husband to get more rest but we all know that a detention camp is not a place for resting. It is a place of physical, mental and emotional torture," she said.

"Release my husband so that he can get the necessary treatment and rest before his condition worsens."

Trial dates

Latheefa Koya, the lawyer for the group, said Lokman, Tian Chua and Hishamuddin were present at the court this morning when the case was mentioned.

She said some shouting took place in court when the trio told the court that Badrul was too ill to attend.

"The hearing will be held between May 19 and 21 and from May 26 to 28," she said.

Latheefa added that another illegal assembly trial involving the Keadilan leaders (but not Badrul) over their protest of restrictions placed o­n the distribution of PAS organ Harakah had also been set for later this year.

"The court fixed six days over two weeks. It will be from Oct 13 to 15 and Oct 20 to 22," she added.

Badrul was charged with participating in an illegal assembly in September 1999 in front of the National Mosque, held in the wake of allegations in court that former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was given arsenic during his detention.

He was charged for the offence together with more than 30 other persons including Keadilan leaders Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Tian Chua and Lokman Nor Adam as well as malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais.

The reformasi activists were all detained under the ISA in April 2001 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government by militant means. Badrul was released conditionally in January last year, but was re-arrested weeks later after holding a ceramah.

Although initially detained under the ISA as well, Mohd Ezam was transferred to the Kajang prison last year to serve a two-year sentence after being found guilty of contravening the Official Secrets Act by leaking classified documents concerning a probe into alleged corrupt practices of two government ministers.