Hospitals in Banda Aceh refuse to treat jailed American nurse
Hospitals in Banda Aceh refuse to treat jailed American nurse
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh
Jailed American nurse Joy Lee Sadler was rushed to hospital on
Friday but was rejected by all hospitals in Banda Aceh for fears
that her HIV illness would spread to other people.
Joy Lee Sadler, who was jailed for four months in Aceh for
visa violations, fell seriously ill after 40 days of a hunger
strike to protest her detention, Sadler's lawyer Rufriadi said.
"Joy Lee Sadler is very weak ... so we asked permission from
the Keudah penitentiary head Ace Hendarmin to allow her to be
treated in hospital."
Sadler was taken to Zainoel Abidin Hospital, but moved to
Harapan Bunda Hospital as the first hospital was full. However,
the Harapan Bunda Hospital refused to take Sadler in for fear
that her illness would spread to other patients in the hospital,
he said.
Her lawyers were still negotiating with Malahyati Hospital
last night but the result was still unknown.
A day earlier, Sadler was sent to Zainoel Abidin Hospital, but
nurses there refused to treat her for fear that they would get
infected with her illness, according to Samsul of the Aceh Legal
Aid Institution (LBH).
The 57-year-old from Waterloo, Iowa, has been infected with
HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
Sadler was convicted on Monday of visa violations by
contacting Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels. She should be freed
next Friday after having served most of her sentence.
Her companion, Scottish-born academic Lesley Jane McCulloch,
also stopped eating after a judge sentenced her Monday for the
same offense.
McCulloch, who has been a vocal critic of alleged military
abuses in the region, received a five-month sentence. The judge
ruled that her actions "could have threatened national security
and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia."
Police have detained the women since Sept. 11.
They have stopped eating and are only drinking fruit juice.
Sadler, who continues to smoke, has claimed to have lost 7
kilograms. She has not taken her HIV medicine regularly because
her family had been unable to get it to her, Rufriadi said.
Sadler complained that her injuries from ill-treatment by
authorities had not healed. Soldiers repeatedly punched her in
the jaw and stomach as she tried to help McCulloch during their
arrest, she claimed.
She also said she suffered severe chest pains, was diagnosed
with angina and is being treated with nitroglycerin.
Both women maintain their innocence. Sadler said she was in
Aceh on holiday and said she had treated children and old people
at a refugee camp. McCulloch, a former lecturer at the University
of Tasmania in Australia, has researched the separatist uprising
in Aceh for several years. She said she was not conducting any
research when she was detained.
Rebels and the government signed a peace deal on Dec. 9 aimed
at ending the 26-year-old war in the resource-rich region.
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh
Jailed American nurse Joy Lee Sadler was rushed to hospital on
Friday but was rejected by all hospitals in Banda Aceh for fears
that her HIV illness would spread to other people.
Joy Lee Sadler, who was jailed for four months in Aceh for
visa violations, fell seriously ill after 40 days of a hunger
strike to protest her detention, Sadler's lawyer Rufriadi said.
"Joy Lee Sadler is very weak ... so we asked permission from
the Keudah penitentiary head Ace Hendarmin to allow her to be
treated in hospital."
Sadler was taken to Zainoel Abidin Hospital, but moved to
Harapan Bunda Hospital as the first hospital was full. However,
the Harapan Bunda Hospital refused to take Sadler in for fear
that her illness would spread to other patients in the hospital,
he said.
Her lawyers were still negotiating with Malahyati Hospital
last night but the result was still unknown.
A day earlier, Sadler was sent to Zainoel Abidin Hospital, but
nurses there refused to treat her for fear that they would get
infected with her illness, according to Samsul of the Aceh Legal
Aid Institution (LBH).
The 57-year-old from Waterloo, Iowa, has been infected with
HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
Sadler was convicted on Monday of visa violations by
contacting Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels. She should be freed
next Friday after having served most of her sentence.
Her companion, Scottish-born academic Lesley Jane McCulloch,
also stopped eating after a judge sentenced her Monday for the
same offense.
McCulloch, who has been a vocal critic of alleged military
abuses in the region, received a five-month sentence. The judge
ruled that her actions "could have threatened national security
and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia."
Police have detained the women since Sept. 11.
They have stopped eating and are only drinking fruit juice.
Sadler, who continues to smoke, has claimed to have lost 7
kilograms. She has not taken her HIV medicine regularly because
her family had been unable to get it to her, Rufriadi said.
Sadler complained that her injuries from ill-treatment by
authorities had not healed. Soldiers repeatedly punched her in
the jaw and stomach as she tried to help McCulloch during their
arrest, she claimed.
She also said she suffered severe chest pains, was diagnosed
with angina and is being treated with nitroglycerin.
Both women maintain their innocence. Sadler said she was in
Aceh on holiday and said she had treated children and old people
at a refugee camp. McCulloch, a former lecturer at the University
of Tasmania in Australia, has researched the separatist uprising
in Aceh for several years. She said she was not conducting any
research when she was detained.
Rebels and the government signed a peace deal on Dec. 9 aimed
at ending the 26-year-old war in the resource-rich region.