Feb 23 verdict on appeal to reinstate Anwar’s sodomy suit against govt

 

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will know on Feb 23 next year whether the Court of Appeal would reinstate his lawsuit over his Sodomy II case.

A three-person bench chaired by Lee Swee Seng today reserved its decision on the appeal by the PKR president, for the merits of the lawsuit to be heard by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Presided also by Court of Appeal judges Lee Swee Seng and Sipang Lian, the bench today deferred its decision, after having heard submissions from parties during online proceedings.

Counsel Gopal Sri Ram and senior federal counsel Suzana Atan appeared for appellant Anwar and respondent government respectively.

Counsel Harvinderjit Singh represented lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is an intervener in the appeal.

Anwar, who is Port Dickson MP, is appealing against the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling on Nov 8, 2017, which allowed the government’s application to strike out his originating summons. The merits of the suit were then not heard.

The lower court had ruled that the suit did not have any cause of action and amounted to an abuse of the court process, as no evidence was tendered to show that Shafee received RM9.5 million from then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, to represent the prosecution in the sodomy appeals.

Relying on affidavit

Through the civil action, Anwar contended that he was not accorded a fair hearing in the course of appeals linked to the sodomy case involving his former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The appellant is relying on an affidavit, affirmed by DPP Siti Rahayu Mohd Mumazani, that claimed Shafee received the RM9.5 million from Najib, in order to lead the prosecution team in the sodomy appeals.

In January 2012 following a criminal trial, the Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted Anwar of sodomising his former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Then on March 7, 2014, the Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution’s appeal to reverse the acquittal, and Anwar was found guilty of the sodomy charge and sentenced to five years in jail.

Anwar's guilty verdict and jail term were upheld when the Federal Court dismissed his appeal in 2015.

He was, however, given a full pardon by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on May 16, 2018. - Mkini