The media was today initially barred at the Shah Alam Syariah Court of Appeal from covering Anwar Ibrahim's qazaf appeal against his complaint against lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
However after an application from lawyer Fadhillah Sidek, the court agreed to allow the press in as far as seating allows.
Fadhillah in her application for reporters be allowed in, reasoned the case is one of public interest in which the Islamic world is watching.
The earlier order is believed to have been made by the court, who barred media from the sixth floor where the case was fixed for mention before a three-member bench led by Md Yusup Che Teh.
Normally, the media is allowed to cover court proceedings at the civil courts up to the Federal Court level, and the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Courts, but in today’s case the police informed the press that the matter is for family members only.
Malaysiakini managed to go up to the sixth floor where the case was scheduled, but was asked by the police to return and stay at the lobby.
Anwar's case concerns an application for Shafee to be summoned by the Syariah court over the latter's roadshow or dialogue session held at the Akademi Kepimpinan Kapten Hussein, on Feb 17, 2015, after the former opposition leader was convicted of Sodomy II at the Federal Court.
He claimed that Shafee had committed qazaf (bearing false witness) for spicing up and including extra details of the purported sodomy incident, and challenged Shafee to produce four witnesses.
Last October the Shah Alam Syariah High Court dismissed Anwar's application.
[More to follow]
-Mkini
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