A murdering paedophile couple are seeking £35,000 each in compensation for "hurt feelings" after they were kept apart in jail.
Charles O'Neill and William Lauchlan launched a human rights challenge to see each other in prison as they serve their life sentences, the Daily Record reports.
The pair, who killed a woman and dumped her body at sea, claim the Scottish Government has failed to respect their rights under the European Convention of Human Rights and they have been discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation.
They maintain that they were in "a long-standing intimate and sexual relationship with each other" prior to being jailed for life after they were convicted of murdering Allison McGarrigle following a trial in 2010.
O'Neill, 51, and Lauchlan, 37, are housed in different prisons within the Scottish jail system and the authorities have not granted permission for them to see each other in visits.
O'Neill is presently detained in Edinburgh's Saughton prison and Laughlan is held in Glenochil jail, in Clackmannanshire.
Last year they failed in a bid to overturn their murder convictions.
They claim that their treatment has breached their rights under Article 8 of the ECHR, which provides protection for private and family life.
They are also seeking damages of £35,000 each claiming they are entitled to an award for "hurt feelings" among other things.
A statement in their bid says: "Their relationship has suffered as a consequence of the treatment they have suffered. They have both felt frustration and distress at being unable to communicate with each other to a greater extent or to have face-to-face contact.
"This is particularly so when heterosexual couples have apparently been afforded greater contact with each other."
O'Neill was ordered to serve at least 30 years in prison and his accomplice was given a minimum term of 26 years after they were found guilty of murdering 39-year-old Mrs McGarrigle in Largs in 1997 and disposing of her corpse at sea.
Her body was not found.
They were also sentenced for sex abuse offences following two trials.
Ministers are contesting the action brought by the killers and maintain none of the orders sought from the court is justified.
The hearing continues.