Malaysia's Jailed Anwar Attends Mother's FuneralHundreds of supporters greeted Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday when the jailed former Malaysian deputy prime minister arrived home in a wheelchair to attend his mother's funeral.Anwar, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for sex and graft crimes he says were cooked up by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's allies, was brought under guard by ambulance from a hospital where he is being treated for a slipped disc. Anwar was at the bedside of his 74-year-old mother Che Yan Hamid when she died on Tuesday, a day after suffering a heart attack. Uniformed police mingled with Anwar's supporters thronging his house in a Kuala Lumpur suburb, and mourners, wearing traditional Muslim skullcaps and headscarves, broke into a funeral chant as Anwar was wheeled out of the ambulance. The United States, whose ambassador met Mahathir on Tuesday, has called Anwar a political prisoner. Mahathir denies allegations of interference in the legal process, saying Anwar was immoral and unfit to rule. He has accused Anwar of using his bad back for political gain. His government has refused Anwar's request to go overseas for specialist back surgery, saying he could be operated on in Malaysia by a foreign surgeon of his choice. |
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