Najib and wife will be asked to testify as witnessess should Anwar be ordered to enter his defence in his Sodomy II trial.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor will be called as witnesses should Anwar Ibrahim be ordered to enter his defence in his Sodomy II trial.
“I think calling them as witnesses would be necessary,” said lead defence counsel Karpal Singh after the court had adjourned.
The prosecution, led by solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, released a list of 71 witnesses to the defence team, and among them were Najib and Rosmah.
Investigating officer Supt Jude Pereira revealed during cross-examination two weeks ago that statements were taken from Najib and Rosmah in relation to Anwar’s sodomy charge.
The statements had been recorded on July 17, 2008. However, the officer denied meeting Najib over the case.
Pereira had also recorded statements from Rosmah’s close friend Mumtaz Jafaar, former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor, and Anwar’s former aide Rahimi Osman.
These names, too, are on the prosecution’s witness list being offered up to the defence team.
The trial adjourned today after a turn of events that Anwar called “disappointing but not surprising”.
Items taken from Anwar’s cell the morning after his arrest were today admitted as evidence in the trial, despite being expunged during the trial-within-a-trial earlier.
Relying on DNA
Former crime scene investigation chief Supt Amidon Anan was called back to the witness stand, where he related how he took four items from Anwar’s cell: a strand of hair, mineral water bottle, toothbrush, and towel on July 17, 2008.
Following this, government chemist Nor Aidora Saedon was called to the stand, where she identified the items and admitted to examining them.
She told the court she had received the items from Pereira. The prosecution is relying on the DNA taken from these items to link Anwar to the alleged sodomy.
Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah said the reason for reversing the ruling was that when the original decision was made, the court did not have the testimony of Pereira and arresting officer Supt Ahmad Taufik Abdullah.
This was despite a submission from the defence team, which applied to have a review of the review, claiming that the judge had not looked at other aspects of their argument, specifically the lock-up rules.
Court will reconvene in three weeks, with Zabidin fixing April 18 as the date for submissions.
Anwar, 63, is charged with sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari, 25, at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. If convicted, Anwar can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years jail.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor will be called as witnesses should Anwar Ibrahim be ordered to enter his defence in his Sodomy II trial.“I think calling them as witnesses would be necessary,” said lead defence counsel Karpal Singh after the court had adjourned.
The prosecution, led by solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, released a list of 71 witnesses to the defence team, and among them were Najib and Rosmah.
Investigating officer Supt Jude Pereira revealed during cross-examination two weeks ago that statements were taken from Najib and Rosmah in relation to Anwar’s sodomy charge.
The statements had been recorded on July 17, 2008. However, the officer denied meeting Najib over the case.
Pereira had also recorded statements from Rosmah’s close friend Mumtaz Jafaar, former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor, and Anwar’s former aide Rahimi Osman.
These names, too, are on the prosecution’s witness list being offered up to the defence team.
The trial adjourned today after a turn of events that Anwar called “disappointing but not surprising”.
Items taken from Anwar’s cell the morning after his arrest were today admitted as evidence in the trial, despite being expunged during the trial-within-a-trial earlier.
Relying on DNA
Former crime scene investigation chief Supt Amidon Anan was called back to the witness stand, where he related how he took four items from Anwar’s cell: a strand of hair, mineral water bottle, toothbrush, and towel on July 17, 2008.
Following this, government chemist Nor Aidora Saedon was called to the stand, where she identified the items and admitted to examining them.
She told the court she had received the items from Pereira. The prosecution is relying on the DNA taken from these items to link Anwar to the alleged sodomy.
Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah said the reason for reversing the ruling was that when the original decision was made, the court did not have the testimony of Pereira and arresting officer Supt Ahmad Taufik Abdullah.
This was despite a submission from the defence team, which applied to have a review of the review, claiming that the judge had not looked at other aspects of their argument, specifically the lock-up rules.
Court will reconvene in three weeks, with Zabidin fixing April 18 as the date for submissions.
Anwar, 63, is charged with sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari, 25, at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. If convicted, Anwar can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years jail.
No comments:
Post a Comment