Former soldier Billy Irving is trying to secure a court order to undergo private hospital treatment to have a lump removed from his arm.
The 35-year-old from Connel, near Oban, is currently serving a five-year sentence in a prison at Chennai in India and is too scared to undergo treatment at the jail hospital because of the “disgusting” hygiene conditions.
His parents, Jim and Margaret, have just returned from an emotional visit, when Mrs Irving saw her son for the first time in three-and-a-half years.
The lump on Mr Irving’s arm is thought to be benign, however the prison doctor has advised it should be removed.
Yvonne MacHugh, Mr Irving’s partner, has said he is refusing to be treated at the prison hospital because.
Mr Irving was jailed along with five British colleagues after being accused of gun running while working on an anti-piracy ship in the Indian Ocean.
The shock sentence was handed down in January after two years of uncertainty over the validity of the charges.
Despite the difficult situation and horrendous conditions in which his son is being held, Jim Irving was optimistic after returning from India.
Mr Irving sen said: “He is coping well, considering.
“It was great for his mother, she has not seen him for three-and-a-half years so it was very emotional for her. We got two visits and normally you are only allowed one a fortnight.
“He is in great health apart from he has got a lump on his arm that he wants to get seen to. To go private he has got to get a court order. The government hospitals leave a lot to be desired and you wouldn’t go near the prison one.
“We are trying to get a suitable arrangement.”
Mr Irving sen added: “Considering they are in an Indian prison, they are coping well. They are being treated better than the Indian prisoners, they get chicken once a week whereas the Indians don’t get any meat at all.
“Parcels are starting to filter through now, the first two that were sent didn’t get there at all.
“Come May the temperatures get up to the high 50s there and there is not much to keep them cool, so that is a concern.
“Please everybody keep writing to him, every time he gets a letter it means people still realise he is alive.”
An appeal hearing is due to take place on June 1.
