Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial FEATURE 05/11/2010

Anwar’s accuser to be grilled in Malaysian sodomy trial

FEATURE 05/11/2010 KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial resumes Monday after a lengthy delay, with his lawyers planning to cross-examine the young man who has accused him of illicit sex. Anwar, 62, says the allegations have been trumped up in a bid to end his political career and neutralize the threat he poses to the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled Malaysia for half a century. The former deputy premier was sacked in 1998 and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts. Anwar was freed in 2004 after the sex conviction was overturned and went on to reinvigorate the opposition which made big electoral gains in 2008 polls. The trial opened briefly in February with explicit evidence from Anwar’s accuser, 24-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was an aide in his office, but was suspended as the defense pursued a number of unsuccessful legal maneuvers.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100511com6.html

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