Sodomy II: Govt pulls strings, court dances

Desi appeals to EsteemedReaders here to read this post in conjunction with my post Yesterday, when all our troubles -- foremost for Opposition Leader DS Anwar Ibrahim -- seemed here to stay. NegaraKu seems to be nailed in by a BN-UMNO regime in a most perilous situation, and the only out for most of Malayisans is to replace the past-its-shelf-life UMNO regime. It's indeed now in the hands of the Voters cometh the 13th General Elections. ~~ YL, Desi

A human rights group accuses the government of pulling the strings behind Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II prima facie ruling.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court’s prima facie case against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is a sign of the government meddling with the judiciary, alleged a human rights group.

Suaram coordinator Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar accused the judiciary of bowing to government leaders through their attacks on Anwar.

“The courts have become mere puppets to the government of the day, succumbing to political pressures and making biased political decisions instead of legal decisions based on justice and fair play,” he said in a statement.

Hasbeemasputra said this was reflected in trial judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah’s actions, who ordered Anwar to enter his defence in the Sodomy II case on Monday.

The Suaram coordinator also slammed Zabidin for “prejudging” the case through his comments regarding Anwar’s former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

“It is laughable that the trial judge goes out of his way to say that Saiful is a ‘credible and truthful witness’ when the said witness has given contradictory statements and was even romantically involved with one of the prosecutors in the case,” he said.

Inconsistencies throughout

Anwar, was charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code with sodomising Saiful, at the Desa Damansara condominium here on June 26, 2008.

If found guilty, the opposition leader could face a jail term of not less than five years and a maximum of 20 years.

Previously, Anwar had said that he was not surprised by Zabidin’s ruling, and that the latter had already “made up his mind.”

Hasbeemasputra agreed with this sentiment, and attacked the trial judge for inconsistencies throughout the case.

He said that Zabidin had initially rejected the DNA samples obtained from the lock-up where Anwar was detained, only to accept it later on.

The defence’s cross-examination of the doctors who inspected Saiful was also a cause of concern for Suaram.

“(The defence was) unable to refer to notes that the doctors made during the medical examination of Saiful, since access to the notes will also have to be granted to the defence,” he said.

Hasbeemasputra said that the contradictions in the doctors’ testimonies and the denied access of evidence to Anwar’s defence team also hampered the latter’s due process.

“Suaram feels that the judge, in establishing that there is prima facie, has not taken into account these factors,” he said.

The High Court has fixed June 6 to 30 to hear Anwar’s defence.
Posted by Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH