Anwar Ibrahim Faces another Stumbling Block in His Trial

Democracy Alert

[May 25, 2010]

Anwar Ibrahim Faces another Stumbling Block in His Trial

Asia
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Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition in Malaysia who delivered the opening remarks at the Sixth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, in Jakarta, Indonesia, last month, has reached another roadblock in his ongoing trial regarding a 2008 sodomy accusation. High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah has denied the request by Anwar’s defense to view statements made to the police in 2008 by his accuser and former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan.  The defense alleges that Saiful’s testimony has changed since his original statement, which would support their argument that the sodomy charge Mr. Ibrahim currently faces is a conspiracy by Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration, since Mr. Najib admitted to having met with Saiful after the sodomy allegedly occurred, but four days before Saiful went to the police. Mr. Najib denies the conspiracy.

Mr. Ibrahim faced a similar sodomy allegation in 1998, and was imprisoned as a result.  In 2004, the verdict was overturned on appeal, and he was freed.  He then went on to lead a three-party opposition coalition to substantial gains in the March 2008 general election.  This, according to his defense, prompted the conspiracy by the government to weaken the power of the opposition with this allegation.
 
Defense Attorney Karpal Singh said that the prosecution refused to release witness lists, closed-circuit video footage, and documents with key DNA and medical evidence, and in doing so has made the case for clearing Anwar’s name more difficult.  Their final appeal to have the charges dropped was rejected in early May.
 
Human Rights Watch has called the trial “a charade of justice” and has urged the Malaysian government to drop all charges.  They allege that the trial is full of due process violations and government interference, and that the law at issue is “antiquated.”
 
For more information on the trial, go to Anwar Ibrahim’s official Web site: www.anwaribrahim.com  
 
For the complete statement from Human Rights Watch, go to: www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/03/23/malaysia-end-charade-justice-anwar-trial
 
For commentary by Malaysiakini, a Malaysian newspaper on the trial, go to:
 
To watch Anwar Ibrahim’s opening remarks at the World Movement’s Sixth Assembly, go to: www.wmd.org/assemblies/sixth-assembly/remarks/opening-remarks-anwar-ibrahim