Malaysia's Anwar Suffers Setback in Sodomy Trial

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (News Today) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim suffered a blow in his sodomy trial Friday after he was denied access to statements by his accuser which he hoped would force the case to collapse. Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts a decade ago, is accused of illicit sex with 25-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was an aide in his office.

His lawyers have applied for all statements that Saiful has made about the alleged incidents, but the bid was denied by High Court in May and the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal Friday.

“This is a serious miscarriage of justice. My client will suffer serious injustice,” Anwar’s lawyer Sankara Nair told AFP.

“The statements would have shown clear contradictions (in Saiful’s testimony),” he said, adding that they could see Saiful impeached and force the entire case to collapse.

The lawyer said the defence will appeal against the ruling. Anwar has lost a series of legal manoeuvres, including efforts to get access to medical reports and clinical notes on his accuser and the defence has said this would hamper their cross-examination.

Anwar’s sodomy trial, which began in February, has been punctuated by lengthy delays and is set to resume on July 14, for a session due to run until July 23, pending the appeal. Saiful has accused Anwar, a 62-year-old father of six, of propositioning him for sex when he met him at a Kuala Lumpur apartment in June 2008.

Sodomy, even among consenting adults, is illegal in Malaysia — a conservative Muslim-majority country. If convicted, Anwar could face up to 20 years imprisonment. Anwar has said he is the victim of a plot to prevent him from taking power, after the opposition made huge strides in 2008 elections, stunning the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition which has been in power for half a century.

Source : kompas

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