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Friday, January 14, 2011

Sodomy trial judge stays on

Anwar had previously tried and failed to have Mohd Zabidin dropped. — file pic
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 14 — The Court of Appeal here today dismissed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to remove Sodomy II trial judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah from hearing the case at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

The opposition leader is accused of sodomising a former aide in June 2008.

Anwar had made the appeal last month after the trial judge refused to step down from hearing the case.

This is the second time he has tried to remove the trial judge on grounds of bias, and lost.

In an immediate reaction, Anwar who was sitting on the front bench in the public gallery turned around and exclaimed to reporters: “Are you surprised?”

The sodomy trial is set for case management on Monday.

In making their ruling, the panel of three judges, led by Datuk Low Hop Bing, noted there were two questions to decide: Whether they had the power to hear the appeal, and whether Anwar had the right to appeal against the trial judge’s decision while the trial was still underway.

The judges ruled they did not have the power, based on Section 50(1)(a) of the Courts of Judicature Act. They also decided Anwar as the accused lacked the right, based on Section 3 of the same law, because his case is still ongoing.

The 63-year-old PKR leader is facing a sodomy charge for the second time in his life.

A deputy prime minister during the Mahathir administration in the 1990s, Anwar was sacked from government following allegations of sodomy and corruption.

His second sodomy trial kicked off in February last year.

Anwar was charged in court in August 2008 with sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, now 25, under section 377B of the Penal Code.

Anwar has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power”.

If found guilty, he can be jailed up to 20 years, which is likely to snuff out his dream of taking over Putrajaya. - Malaysian Insider

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