Newsmaker

Anwar's sodomy trial resumes

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-10 15:40

KUALA LUMPUR - The sodomy trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim resumed in the High Court here on Monday with his lawyer questioning the prosecutor.

Karpal Singh, who led the defense team, asked for the list of witnesses from the prosecution ahead of his questioning but it was denied by the judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail arrive at the courthouse in Kuala Lumpur May 10, 2010. Anwar is in court to face charges of sodomy, which he denies and says are politically motivated. [Photo/Xinhua]

The lawyer, then, requested for all the recorded police statements after he finished a 45-minute inquest to the plaintiff Mohd Saiful, his former political aide of Anwar, but it has to wait for the nod from the judge.

As scheduled, the trail will last until May 14 with the next trial dates set on May 31 to June 4, July 14 to 23, and August 2 to 30.

Anwar, 63, was accused of sodomizing Mohd Saiful on June 26, 2008, in a condominium unit. The trial for the accusation commenced on February 3 this year.

He was sacked and later sentenced to jail on four counts of corrupt practices and for sodomy in September 1998.

Currently, Anwar is the adviser of the opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or the People's Justice Party. He is also the opposition leader in Malaysia's parliament.

Sodomy carries a maximum 20-year jail sentence in Malaysia.