Anwar's accuser to be cross-examined in Malaysian sodomy trial
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial resumes Monday after a lengthy delay, with his lawyers planning to cross-examine the young man who has accused him of illicit sex.
Anwar, 62, says the allegations have been trumped up in a bid to end his political career and neutralise the threat he poses to the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled Malaysia for half a century.
The former deputy premier was sacked in 1998 and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts. Anwar was freed in 2004 after the sex conviction was overturned and went on to reinvigorate the opposition which made big electoral gains in 2008 polls.
The trial opened briefly in February with explicit evidence from Anwar's accuser, 24-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was an aide in his office, but was suspended as the defence pursued a number of unsuccessful legal manoeuvres.
Anwar's counsel Sankara Nair said the defence team would cross-examine Mohamad Saiful when the hearing resumes at the High Court Monday.
"We intend to grill this witness," Nair told AFP Sunday. Hearing dates have been set until August but Sankara said he did not know when the trial would end.
During his testimony in February, Mohamad Saiful said that Anwar, using vulgar language, propositioned him for sex shortly after he arrived at a Kuala Lumpur apartment on June 26, 2008 to deliver a document.
He said went to the bathroom to wash himself, undressed, hung up his clothes and wrapped himself in a towel, returning to the bedroom where he was embraced by Anwar, who was also wearing just a towel.
His testimony was cut short as the judge agreed to a defence application to hear the rest of the account in private.
Prosecutors have said that two days after the alleged incident Mohamad Saiful underwent a medical examination at a hospital and that DNA tests on samples taken from his body showed traces of Anwar's semen.
Sankara Nair said the prosecution's refusal to release information such as its witness list, video footage and key documents on forensic and DNA evidence would make it very hard for Anwar to clear his name.
The defence team has failed in a series of legal bids to gain access to evidence, as well as to have the presiding judge disqualified over complaints that he had refused to rein in biased media coverage.
Anwar last week lost his final bid to strike out the sodomy charges, as the Federal Court rejected an appeal and paved the way for his trial to resume.
Human Rights Watch has urged Malaysia to drop the charges against Anwar, condemning the case as a "charade of justice" and saying his lawyers had been blocked from preparing a thorough defence.
Anwar told AFP at the weekend that it was Malaysia's reputation that was on trial in a case which will be an important test for the nation's much-criticised judiciary.
After suffering its worst ever election results in the 2008 polls, the ruling coalition ousted the serving prime minister Abdullah Badawi and drafted in Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has unveiled reforms aimed at winning back support.
Anwar accused Najib of involvement in a political conspiracy against him, and highlighted a meeting Mohamad Saiful had with the prime minister before he lodged the police complaint.
"For Najib to stoop so low, it just reflects his fear (of my political influence). It is a act of desperation to remain in power," he said. "Najib wants to portray himself as a liberal reformer but actually he is really ruthless."
Najib has repeatedly denied any involvement in the case.
Sodomy, even among consenting adults, is illegal in Malaysia -- a conservative and Muslim-majority country. If convicted, Anwar could face up to 20 years imprisonment.
Anwar, a married of father of six, said he fears that he may be jailed but that his family and friends "have provided emotional support."
"I am concerned about (my wife) and my children. I am a human being. I spent six years in solitary confinement," he said of his time in jail. - AFP/fa
By Sien Wee.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through this article, I feel that this is going to be a tight situation for Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to get out of. If the document from the DNA tests is true and that semen of Anwar was really found on the body of Mohamad Saiful. Then there is possibly very little chance for Anwar Ibrahim to win this lawsuit. Moreover, it makes it harder for Anwar Ibrahim to win this case as he has already been to jail before for similar cases in 1998.
However, it is also highly suspicious that Prime Minister Najib Razak had a meeting with Mohamad Saiful before the police complaint was lodged. As Anwar Ibrahim made big electoral gains in 2008 polls, Najib Razak could be trying to eliminate current competitor to remain in power.
If Anwar Ibrahim loses this lawsuit, then it will really mark the end for his political career. This might cause a huge impact in Malaysia and allow Barisan Nasional coalition to continue to rule Malaysia.
By Dewei.
ReplyDeleteI think that Malaysia’s reputation would be seriously affected as their opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, married with 6 children, was charged for illicit sex with his assistant, Mohamad Saiful. After reading this article, I feel that there are many loopholes in this case.
Firstly, in Anwar’s apartment, there are only Anwar and Saifu alone. The statement that was contributed by Saifu might not be true as in the apartment, there are no other witnesses. In addition, Saifu, being a guy, would have the ability to stop Anwar when he was embraced by him.
Secondly, Anwar had won himself many supports in 2008 polls, causing the ruling coalition to suffer from the worst election result. In order to win back the supports from their people, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was replaced by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib, who has the goal to win back the supports, might have used the past sex conviction records of Anwar to once again fame him to damage Anwar’s reputation. By doing so, it will caused Anwar to lost his supporters. Maybe, this was made possible with the help of Saifu. Najib might have bribed Saifu and the sending of documents to Anwar’s apartment might be a trap set up by them.
Thirdly, by judging the semen on Saifu’s body does not imply that Anwar illicit sex with him. A man with power and wealth like Najib might have used ways to retrieve Anwar’s semen easily.
In conclusion, Anwar might be jailed if there were enough evidence to charge against him. This would also mean that Anwar would end his political career by forced. By removing their greatest threat like Anwar, the Barisan Nasional coalition can gain back their power in ruling Malaysia.
By Yee Hong.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through this article, I think there is a possibilities that Anwar's main competitor the Barisan Nasional coalition is trying to remove him from Malaysian politics.
In 1998, Anwar the then Deputy Prime Minister was charged in a sodomy cases under then Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad era where Anwar was sentenced for 9 years jail for sodomy but the cases was overturned by the Malaysian Federal Court in 2004 where Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had already resigned his Prime Minister post.
4 years later, Anwar who now became a opposition leader was charged with a similar sodomy cases where Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar just before the Malaysian General Election which the opposition party eventually made big electoral gains in 2008 polls.
Firstly,Prime Minister Najib Razak would have , birbe Saiful to accuse Anwar of sodomise him so he Najib could remove his competitior and win back the Malaysians' heart for the next General Election.
Secondly, with the 1998 sodomy cases he had learned from past, Anwar would not be such a stupid to get himself into trouble again where the General Election is nearby and spoilt his own reputation.
Lastly, Saiful a young man would be able to stop Anwar a middle age man to sodomise him.
In conclusion, I think there is a high percentages that Anwar Ibrahim will not be jailed of sodomising Mohamad Saiful with the above evidences I wrote.
By Adeline
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article, I feel that justice should be done. As stated, in 1998, Anwar was sacked and sentenced to jail due to sex conviction and corruption. However, in 2004, he was released after the sex conviction was overturned. This shows that the Malaysia government did not do a proper job in gathering sufficient evidence to put someone in jail. Once again, Anwar was accused of illicit sex with his aide, Mohamad Saiful . I feel sympathy for him because I think that is a makeup and history will repeat itself. It is due to the fact that no information such as its witness list, video footage and key documents on forensic and DNA evidence were released to clear Anwar ‘s name. This statement proves that there are many loopholes in between. Since information is not being released, I believed people doubt that the sodomy incident is true. Hence, people may tend to side Anwar . In addition, Anwar tried to defend himself by accusing Najib of involvement in a political conspiracy against him. In my opinion, I think that Najib is the mastermind of this accusation .
However, evidence such as DNA tests on samples taken from Saiful ‘s body showed traces of Anwar ‘s semen. This may lead to assumption that Anwar did the sodomy with Saiful.
Nevertheless, in this cruel world, some truth will be hidden. We will not know whether the illicit sex is true or just a makeup story to ruin Anwar’s reputation. Therefore, I sincerely hope that the Malaysia government will do a thorough check before sentencing a person. Nothing will escape from the eye of the law . In the end, what is true will come to be known. The truth always appears eventually, despite all efforts to hide it. It is impossible to keep something secret forever.
By Teresa
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article,there are many points that I want to put across.In the first place,being a leader,Anwar Ibrahim has power and authority to lead people,be it the apposition team or the opposing team.Doing such illicit sexual acts is simply outrageous.Anwar's accuser,Mohamad,was "embraced" by him while delivering some documents to his apartment.After undergoing some DNA tests,it was proven that there were traces of semen on Mohamad's body.Yes,this might not be a reliable source of information,it does not mean that Anwar did perform sexual acts on Mohamad.However,what made me believe that Anwar could have performed these illicit acts is the charges in 1998.It is a SIMILAR CASE of sodomy.Right after Anwar was charged of sodomy in the recent reports,the Human Rights Watch urged to drop the case,even going as far as to stop thorough defences of Anwar's lawyers.There is no surprise that Anwar has lost the people's support in the General Elections in 2008.If Anwar does go to jail,nobody would continue to support him,thus,leading to the end of his political career.
Furthermore,Anwar has also been charged for sex conviction and corruption in 1998.
Why would people want to follow a corruptible and immoral leader?Has he not learnt his lesson?
By Yeh Gee
ReplyDeleteFrom my knowledge, the result of court cases are based on the statements of witnesses and physical evidences presented in court.
In this case, Mohamad Saiful was able to specify in court the details of how Anwar Ibrahim sodomized him in the Kuala Lumpur apartment on June 26, 2008. The prosecutors also claimed that Mohamad Saiful underwent a medical examination at a hospital and that DNA tests on samples taken from his body showed traces of Anwar's semen.
However, the defence lawyer said that the prosecution's refusal to release information such as its witness list, video footage and key documents on forensic and DNA evidence would make it very hard for Anwar to clear his name.
Based on the above analysis, the defence team is at a disadvantage position. They could not prepare a thorough and proper proceeding, as they are unable to obtain the evidences and information from the prosecutors.
Therefore, in my opinion, at the end of the court case, Anwar Ibrahim will be unlikely to clear his name.