From AFP
The young man who has accused Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy was spared Monday from having to take the stand to answer claims he had an affair with a trial prosecutor.
Anwar last week applied to have the sodomy charges against him struck out, saying that 25-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who once worked as an aide in his office, could have been passed confidential information by the female lawyer.
The former deputy prime minister, who was sacked and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts a decade ago, has said the case is a political conspiracy and that the alleged relationship is more proof the trial is biased.
Lawyers for Anwar on Monday asked the High Court to force Saiful, as well as the young prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif, to testify over the allegations.
But Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah refused the request, saying it was “not relevant to this case or this proceeding”.
Defence counsel Karpal Singh had asked the court to strike out the “frivolous” charge against Anwar, saying that the extraordinary allegations undermined the entire case.
“Never before in history… has such a motion been filed to strike out the charge on the basis of an affair between the prosecutor and the star witness,” he said.
“This is putting the judicial system on trial. The court itself is on trial.”
The prosecution argued against the request for Saiful and Farah to take the stand, saying that it was a “fishing expedition” by the defence.
The claims of an affair first surfaced in a political blog last month, and shortly afterwards Farah was removed from the case.
No evidence has been offered, but neither the prosecution nor the pair involved have denied the allegations.
Saiful has accused Anwar — a 62-year-old father of six — of sodomising him at an upmarket Kuala Lumpur condominium in 2008. If convicted, Anwar could face up to 20 years in prison.
Sodomy, even among consenting adults, is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Anwar has said he is the victim of a plot to prevent him from taking power after the opposition made huge strides in 2008 elections, stunning the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power for half a century.
The young man who has accused Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy was spared Monday from having to take the stand to answer claims he had an affair with a trial prosecutor.
Anwar last week applied to have the sodomy charges against him struck out, saying that 25-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who once worked as an aide in his office, could have been passed confidential information by the female lawyer.
The former deputy prime minister, who was sacked and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts a decade ago, has said the case is a political conspiracy and that the alleged relationship is more proof the trial is biased.
Lawyers for Anwar on Monday asked the High Court to force Saiful, as well as the young prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif, to testify over the allegations.
But Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah refused the request, saying it was “not relevant to this case or this proceeding”.
Defence counsel Karpal Singh had asked the court to strike out the “frivolous” charge against Anwar, saying that the extraordinary allegations undermined the entire case.
“Never before in history… has such a motion been filed to strike out the charge on the basis of an affair between the prosecutor and the star witness,” he said.
“This is putting the judicial system on trial. The court itself is on trial.”
The prosecution argued against the request for Saiful and Farah to take the stand, saying that it was a “fishing expedition” by the defence.
The claims of an affair first surfaced in a political blog last month, and shortly afterwards Farah was removed from the case.
No evidence has been offered, but neither the prosecution nor the pair involved have denied the allegations.
Saiful has accused Anwar — a 62-year-old father of six — of sodomising him at an upmarket Kuala Lumpur condominium in 2008. If convicted, Anwar could face up to 20 years in prison.
Sodomy, even among consenting adults, is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Anwar has said he is the victim of a plot to prevent him from taking power after the opposition made huge strides in 2008 elections, stunning the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power for half a century.
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