Malaysian Leader Anwar Ibrahim Jailed in 'deplorable' Conditions

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is jailed in "deplorable" conditions in a small cell equipped only with a thin foam mattress on the floor, a squat toilet and a bucket for bathing, his daughter said today.Nurul Izzah said the conditions were inappropriate for her father, who she called a "political prisoner", and could exacerbate a chronic back problem and otherwise threaten the 67-year-old's health.Anwar was jailed last week for five years by the country's highest court on a sodomy charge, likely ending his career in politics.

"My father is kept in a cell which is deplorable. It is a bare cell with a two-inch foam mattress placed on the floor, a bucket for bathing and a squat toilet," said Nurul Izzah, 34, an opposition member of parliament."We are shocked by the poor jail conditions.

"Anwar had led a rebirth of a once-downtrodden opposition that is threatening to unseat the regime that has been in power since independence in 1957.His jailing has drawn international criticism including from the United States, which said it raised questions over judicial independence.Anwar denies the sodomy charge, calling it a "political conspiracy" by the government to curb the opposition's momentum.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia but few cases are ever prosecuted.