Kerala HC seeks Centre\'s response on woman\'s plea for help to son in UAE jail

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the Centre's stand on a woman's plea for necessary support to her son, who is languishing in a UAE prison since August 2015, after his arrest for allegedly spying for the Indian government.

"We will examine it. Central government counsel get instructions (regarding the plea)," Justice P B Suresh Kumar said.

The court was hearing the plea by Shahubanath Beevi, who has also claimed that her son has been subjected to "severe torture and harassment" and he did not get any kind of support from the Indian Embassy there or the central government.

Her son, Shihani Meera Sahib Jamal Mohammed, has been imprisoned in the Abu Dhabi Central Prison in UAE since August 25, 2015, the petition, filed through advocate Jose Abraham, said.

During the hearing, the petitioner submitted that according to the judgements passed by the UAE courts in the matter, her son was "acting for the Indian Embassy officials in UAE".

The woman has alleged that her son was not even provided proper legal aid to defend himself in the courts there. She has also claimed that she sent several representations, including a latest one on June 11, citing human rights violations and denial of basic rights to her son and seeking assistance from the government.

However, she has not received any response yet, the petition claimed.

The woman's plea urges the High Court to issue a direction to the central government to "extend necessary support to the petitioner's son legally, diplomatically and politically" and to also consider her latest representation within a reasonable period of time.