Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has asked a Malaysian court to throw out a sodomy charge against him, two weeks before the start of a trial that he maintains is politically motivated, his lawyer said Thursday.

The government has repeatedly denied Anwar’s claim that the charge was orchestrated to block him from leading a three-party opposition alliance that severely eroded the ruling coalition’s parliamentary majority in the March 2008 election.

Anwar submitted a petition to the High Court on Wednesday that said the case was a conspiracy concocted by his foes in the government, his lawyer Sankara Nair said in a statement.

In his application, Anwar asserted that a medical report dated July 13 last year by a government hospital found no evidence of anal penetration on his accuser.
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Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has won the first battle in his Sodomy II trial.

Today, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge S M Komathy Suppiah ruled the certificate signed by the Attorney-General requesting the case be transferred to the High Court was invalid.

This will give a fillip to Anwar’s fight against the sodomy charge which he has denied and suggested is politically-motivated.

His case will now be heard in the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Sessions Court.

“This case raises a unique situation where it is evident that any involvement by the AG in this case would seriously undermine public confidence in the administration of criminal Read the rest of this entry »

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Sessions court judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah has lifted the media gag on the contents of nine “exhibits” referred to by the defence team in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II hearing.

Yesterday, Judge Komathy had allowed the prosecution’s application to issue a gag order to restrain the media from reporting about Abdul Gani Patail’s alleged involvement as shown in the contents of the exhibits.

Anwar’s lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah had argued before Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah that the three exhibits [two statements of claim respectively filed by Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and the then investigation officer in the 1998 Anwar case Mat Zain Ibrahim and newspaper reports on that incident] had been read out in open court.
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The Sessions Court here on Tuesday ruled that it had the discretion to hear submissions on the defence objection questioning the validity of the certificate produced by the prosecution to transfer Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case to the High Court.

Judge S.M.Komathy Suppiah rejected the preliminary objection by the prosecution which contended that it was mandatory for the Sessions Court, under Section 418A (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, to transfer the case to the High Court once the transfer certificate had been issued by the prosecution.

She made the decision based on four cases, including the corruption case of former Read the rest of this entry »

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The imam who witnessed Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan“s swearing on the Quran to accuse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him has cast doubts on the oath.

With less than a day to campaign in the Permatang Pauh by-election, observers noted that the Barisan Nasional“s strongest point of attack against the former deputy prime minister has been blunted.

This means the public confession by Ramlang Porigi, the imam of the Kuala Lumpur mosque, made in Permatang Pauh late last night has freed Anwar from having to take the same Quranic vow to prove his innocence.
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Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, who has accused Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, gave a statement on the allegation to the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) Tuesday.

According to Bernama, he was dressed in a blue shirt and black pants and he wore a songkok when he arrived at the Jawi office at 10am. He was accompanied by his father, Azlan Mohd Lazim, and lawyer, Zamri Idris and escorted by police officers in plainclothes.

Saiful is believed to have been called by Jawi to give a statement relating to his sodomy allegation.

After spending more than three hours with Jawi officers, Saiful was taken away in a silver Proton Waja at 1.15pm. He left the Jawi office through the back exit without speaking to reporters who were waiting outside the building.
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Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan appeared in public today to swear on the Quran and denied he had consented to the alleged anal intercourse with Anwar Ibrahim. He has swore on the Quran at the Federal Territory Mosque in Jalan Duta here today that the sodomy had indeed taken place.

He performed the swearing before an imam at 6.15pm. The swearing process ended about 15 minutes later.

He was accompanied by his father and police personnel. The swearing ceremony was witnessed by some 30 people, including representatives of the media and members of his family.

Mohd Saiful, Anwar’s former aide, prior to today, had pledged that he would swear on the Quran about the alleged misdeed by Anwar.
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Dr Mohd Osman Abdul Hamid in a statutory declaration made on Aug 1, says he stands by his findings of an examination done on Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

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This morning the Malaysian Election Commission announced nomination and polling day for the by-election that I will contest in Permatang Pauh. I look forward to the campaign period to meet with voters in my home constituency. I invite all Malaysians to join me in this historic campaign to bring forth a New Dawn for Malaysia as we work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous nation.

At the same time we would reiterate our longstanding concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. To this date, the evidence of phantom voters and ballot box stuffing has yet to be addressed by the Election Commission. The poor handling of the use of indelible ink in the General Elections gives all Malaysians, particularly those in Permatang Pauh, reason to be concerned about the conduct of polling this month. I urge the Election Commission to take this opportunity to restore some credibility to its reputation by fulfilling its constitutional mandate to ensure that voting is fair and unbiased. Read the rest of this entry »

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