Malaysian opposition leader's defence closes case in sodomy trial

Oct 17, 2011, 10:35 GMT

Kuala Lumpur - Defence lawyers for Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday wrapped up their case in his sodomy trial that began a year and a half ago.

Anwar's lawyers, who began presenting their defence in August, had called up seven witnesses including a German spinal surgeon who testified that Anwar was unable to engage in the act of sodomy due to back problems.

Prosecution lawyers told the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday that they intended to call four more witnesses to counter the German doctor's testimony.

'Today, we closed the case of the defense. The prosecution will submit their application to call for four rebuttal witnesses before lawyers will present their written submission to the judge,' Anwar's lawyer Sankara Nair told dpa.

Sankara said that High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah will then announce the date of his judgement, which could come anytime from two weeks to several months from the time of submissions.

'There is no fixed time, and no way to tell when the judge will deliver his judgement. It's purely up to him, and we'll all have to wait until he announces it,' said Sankara.

The latest sodomy trial kicked off in February 2010. The prosecution initially wrapped up its case in March, after questioning 27 witnesses.

Anwar, 64, is charged with sodomizing his male former aide in June 2008, an offence that carries a jail term of up to 20 years.

He has denied the charges, and claims he is being framed by the government in a move to undermine and cripple his three-party opposition alliance, an allegation the government has dismissed.

The trial is the second time that Anwar has faced sex charges.

He was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and later convicted and jailed for sodomizing his family's ex-driver and using his position to cover it up. He denied all charges, and claimed to have been framed by his then-mentor Mahathir Mohamad to avert a political challenge.

Anwar was released in 2004, after a court overturned the sodomy conviction.

After his release, Anwar led a newly formed opposition alliance to historic gains in the 2008 general elections, which saw the worst result ever for the ruling National Front coalition.

Anwar has said the opposition intended to move into government in the next polls, which are not due until 2013 but are likely to be called next year.

However, supporters fear that opposition ambitions could be thwarted should Anwar be found guilty of sodomy.

If he is sentenced to even one year in jail, he would also be barred from politics for a minimum of five years, posing a major problem for the opposition, which has not announced any potential successor.