Israeli writer has Simi links,Author to be deported.

KOZHIKODE: Sometimes a good thing in the wrong hands can lead to serious trouble, as British-born Israeli writer and academic Susan Nathan recently discovered. Residing in Kozhikode for the past two years, she didn’t think twice when a local publisher wanted her book translated into Malayalam.

“I allowed Other Books, a publishing house run by Dr Ausaf Ahsan, a former SIMI state leader, to publish the Malayalam translation of my book ‘The Other Side of Israel’. The publishers changed the title to suit their needs,” Susan, who is now staying at a house near Nadakkavu, says. Following the book’s publication, she became a suspect in the eyes of intelligence agencies. She also wrote four articles in Thejas, the official organ of Popular Front of India (PFI), an outfit known for its extremist views. The articles were innocuous enough but the police weren’t taking any chances.

Having first come to Kozhikode in 2010, she returned to India the same year to work at the Institute of Palliative Medicine in Kozhikode with a visa valid up to March 2011. But by this time, things had slowly turned against her. “How do I, a foreigner, know that Dr Ahsan was a leader of an organization which was banned in India,” a visibly upset Susan, against whom the Kerala High Court has issued a deportation order for overstaying in India after her visa expired, asks. Susan has been on UN assignments to violence-torn Bosnia and Gaza. “My daughter’s boyfriend was seriously injured in a blast triggered by a suicide bomber at Ariel in West Bank. I have seen enough conflicts in my life. I find it outrageous to be slapped with the charge of promoting extremism or being branded a spy,” she fumes.

According to Manjeri Sunder Raj, Susan’s counsel, her application for extension of her visa is still pending with the ministry of home affairs. “The ministry of external affairs had directed Susan to convert her XV-visa to medical visa. But this was not communicated to her by the authorities,” he says. Police have initiated action to deport Susan following the HC order.

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