KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s defence, in a blistering attack, accused High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin of lying as they sought to disqualify him from the case.
Anwar, who faces 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted of illicit sexual relations with a young former aide, has condemned the allegations as a political conspiracy to sideline the opposition.
He has accused High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah of refusing to rein in what he said was biased media coverage, including the publishing of a photo taken during a closed-door hearing at the apartment where the alleged encounter was said to take place.
“Your lordship can’t demonstrate that you are impartial,” defence counsel Karpal Singh said, telling the judge he should have cautioned the Utusan Malaysia daily which ran the picture and an earlier suggestive headline.
The photo showed Anwar’s accuser, 24-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, gesturing towards a bed in the apartment. Karpal said the judge was wrong in arguing that the bed had been mentioned in open court.
“With due respect, Your Lordship didn’t tell the truth and that translates into ‘Your Lordship has lied,’” he said.
“Your lordship has no alternative but to step down.”
Lead prosecutor Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden hit back, saying the defence was being “insulting” and that the bed had indeed been mentioned in public hearings.
“To say Your Lordship has lied is a very strong word,” he told the court. “Lawyers can defend their client without fear or favour but to use strong language against the judge is unacceptable.”
Mohamad Zabidin ordered the case to be adjourned until Feb 18 to allow him time to consider the arguments over whether he should recuse himself as the presiding judge.
The trial opened last Wednesday after months of delays caused by defence applications to strike out the case and obtain access to evidence.
Saiful, who was the first witness, told the court that Anwar used vulgar language to proposition him for sex after inviting him to the apartment in an upscale Kuala Lumpur suburb to deliver a document.
Anwar was arrested in 1998 on sodomy and corruption charges but made a stunning comeback after being freed from prison in 2004. His sexual misconduct charge was overturned after he had spent six years behind bars. — AFP
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