A BLACKWOOD man being held in a notorious Indonesian jail after his visa expired says he has been “let down” by the British Embassy.

Mathew Davies, from the Cefn Fforest area, has been locked up in Cipinang Penitentiary Institution in the country’s capital Jakarta for nearly two months without charge.

Lindsay Whittle, the Assembly Member for South Wales East, has again pleaded on the authorities to release 25-year-old Mr Davies, who is said to be facing a sentence of two years’ imprisonment for visa irregularities.

In a letter from Mr Whittle to Philip Hammond MP, the British secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs, Mr Davies is quoted as saying: “I feel like my country has let me down, I’ve paid taxes and national insurance for years, but when it comes to the embassy supplying me food, drink or even a pro-bono lawyer ‘we can’t provide none of this’.

“I have no respect for the embassy, they do nothing for me and I honestly can’t see the point in them being involved.

“I am slowly starting to give up and I don’t know how much more I can be let down and treated like an animal, it’s killing me.”

In another letter to Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb, the ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia at its London embassy, Mr Whittle expressed concerns about the continuing detention of Mr Davies.

He said: “I accept that the authorities in Indonesia have to take action against those who breach visa rules. However, I do feel that the detention of Mr Davies, and a possible two-years-plus jail sentence, is too harsh and does not reflect the offence he has committed. It may be that deporting Mr Davies would have been more appropriate.

“I am hoping you can use your influence with the authorities in Indonesia to secure his release.”

Mr Whittle added he was prepared to travel to Indonesia to discuss the matter further.

Mr Davies had travelled to Indonesia last year to start a job with a computer firm and worked later at a restaurant.

His mother Yvonne Davies told the Argus last month his working visa must have run out and he had no money on him when the authorities locked him up.

The high-security prison is well-known for in-house crime and drug problems.