Thursday 7 August 2008

Anwar pleads not guilty, out on bond -Malaysia kini

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was charged in the Sessions Court today with having committed sodomy on Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan under section 377B of the Penal Code on June 26 between 3.01pm and 4.30pm at Unit 11-5-1 Desa Damansara Condo in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. He has pleaded not guilty and was released on a personal bond on RM20,000 without a need for a guarantor.

Malaysiakin
i has the report below.


Aug 7, 08 9:08am

Malaysiakini breaking news http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/87391 reports that PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim pleaded not guilty to the charge of having carnal intercourse against the order of nature at the Sessions Court in Jalan Duta court complex this morning.

MCPX

"This is a malicious slander and I'm not guilty," he told Sessions judge SM Komathy.

The prosecution did not oppose bail and proposed the amount be set at RM20,000 and that Anwar be required to surrender his passport.

Judge Komathy agreed to release Anwar on RM20,000 personal bond without surety.

She also said that Anwar need not surrender his passport as the opposition leader was not likely to abscond.

The judge also set the case for mention on Sept 10 to decide hearing dates. However, the case would be transferred to the High Court.

After the date was fixed, Anwar and his lawyers then left the courtroom.

The charge, preferred following a complaint by 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, carries a punishment of up to 20 years' imprisonment if found guilty.

Anwar was charged with having committed sodomy on Saiful under section 377B of the Penal Code on June 26 between 3.01pm and 4.30pm at Unit 11-5-1 Desa Damansara Condo in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

According to a lawyer, section 377B refers to consensual sex, not assault.

Appeared relax and compose

Earlier today, Anwar arrived at 9.45am to chants of reformasi from 200 supporters who have gathered outside the court complex. He was accompaned by his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and eldest daughter Nurul Izzah.

Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng read out a short joint statement from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

He said should Anwar be denied bail, Wan Azizah would be the coordinator of the Pakatan council.

Other Pakatan leaders present include PKR leaders Azmin Ali and Tian Chua, DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Gobind Singh Deo and PAS leader Husam Musa.

The de facto PKR leader, who was in a greyish jacket and light purple shirt, appeared relax. He smiled and talked to some of his supporters and Pakatan leaders inside the courtroom.

He told Tenaganita director and PKR leader Irene Fernandez that this court case would be the "final round".

Anwar is represented by a seven-member legal team headed by Sulaiman Abdullah. The other defence lawyers are R Sivarasa, Sankara Nair, Saiful Izham Ramli, Amer Hamzah, Edmund Bon and Leela J Jesuthasan.

There are also other lawyers who are holding watching brief for Bar Council and Washington-based Human Rights Watch, Paris-based International for Human Rights and Bangkok-based Forum Asia.

Heavy security

The police have put the entire court complex under heavy security, with police personnel lining up along the roads leading to the complex, as well as within the complex itself.

At least seven police and Federal Reserve Unit trucks were seen in the court parking area.

Similarly the police have also mounted several roadblocks in certain parts of the city, causing massive gridlocks in all main arteries that enter the city centre.

The police also limited public access to the courtroom - Sessions Court 1 - in which Anwar was charged. All members of public were also asked to register themselves before entering the courtroom.

Had bail been denied, as was the case when he was charged 10 years ago, Anwar would be detained and will have to fight his Permatang Pauh by-election behind bars. - Malaysiakini


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its unexpected. I thought this sort of case might not allow for bail. Thats kinda kind and fair play by the government. Perhaps they have enough strong evidence to nail DSAI down with the charges of his case.

Anonymous said...

The government is being fair to him. Now DSAI can't simply accused bad statements regarding his case. But the date of continuing the trial at high court on sept 10 is a little awkward.

Anonymous said...

Tok mommy,

looks like you have umno cybertroopers here defending the gomen.

Police had more than one month to collect evidence. Right girlpower the fact that DSAI is allowed bail doest mean the government is fair.

It just doesnt have enough evidence to nail him down.

Anonymous said...

I think the govt is fair by allowign bail for him. Bacuse the accused person is not proven guilty until he is reall is, so that is why they let him bail. Otherwise you would not this chance during Mahathir's time. No way.

Anonymous said...

rakyatpower,
cybertrooper or not, girlpower has a point there.
The police may have strong enough evidences this time around to pin him down.
If you want a fair trial for your beloved Anwar then stop comparing the 1998 with now.

Anonymous said...

Rakyatpower,
Saya setuju dengan girlpower, anon, i think so and redbag. Kita di sini mempunyai kebebasan untuk bersuara. Jangan kerana kita back up kerajaan, dengan mudah kau tuduh orang cyber trooper UMNO. Memang kerajaan cuba bertindak adil ape? Dalam kes mahkamah seperti ini bukan mudah untuk dapat ikat jamin. So, apalagi yang korang (pengikut Anwar) nak?

Anonymous said...

How can girlpower says the government is fair. If credit is due, then that must be attributable to the Solicitor General and the judge. Not the government.

We should remind ourselves that Anwar is charged under 377B of the Penal Code for consensual carnal intercourse against the order of nature. As rightly pointed by Anwar,no charges was preferred against Saiful considering that it was consensual? Is that fair? No convinced? What about Dr Chua? Why was he not charged under 377B? Is that fair?

Anonymous said...

to mankannan
sbb boleh bail kerana didakwa dibwh akta 377B, bukan 377A @ C. Sekarang bukan rogol tapi suka sama suka.Penin aku..pak lah kata rogol, saiful kata kena rogol..tapi dakwaan lain. Sarkes sungguh!

Anonymous said...

Aik..Masa bila pulak ada cakap rogol? Bukan haritu cakap liwat je ke. Berita mana pulak ni..Entahlah. Kita tengok je apa akan jadi lepas ni, tak payah menggelabah buat bising..