Anwar fails to get extra evidence

Anwar fails to get extra evidence

By Debra Chong PUTRAJAYA, Nov 6 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today failed in his bid to get extra evidence from the prosecution before his Sodomy II trial. The Court of Appeal panel of judges, made up of Datuk Hasan Lah, Datuk Wira Abu Samah Nordin and Datuk Sulaiman Daud, unanimously ruled in favour of the prosecution and struck out Anwar’s cross-appeal. Hasan, who led the Bench, overruled the prosecution’s argument that the High Court judge in Anwar’s trial had made a mistake in interpreting the law when the latter ordered the prosecution to supply certain evidence to the defence team.

But at the same time, the judges decided that Anwar was only entitled to certain documents before trial to prepare his defence. The written grounds of judgment will be given out at a later date. The prosecution team, led by Solicitor General II, Datuk Zainal Abiden, later told reporters that the documents Anwar was entitled to had already been handed over to his defence team. “The status quo remains,” said one of the deputy public prosecutors. Anwar’s lawyers however, insist that an amended part of the Criminal Procedure Code, which was passed by Parliament in March 2006, entitles the grandfather to more documents before trial. Among the laundry list of demands from the defence are: the chemist’ notes on DNA samples taken of Anwar and his accuser; the Pusrawi Hospital medical report where Anwar’s alleged victim had first visited after being supposedly sodomised; and certain closed circuit television (CCTV) footage from the condominium in upmarket Damansara Heights where the act is said to have happened. “All these we are going to get during trial anyway. So why can’t we get them now?” Anwar’s lawyer, R. Sivarasa, said. He added that if the defence got hold of the document, it would avoid unnecessary delays in the trial later. “It’s to prevent trial by ambush,” said another of Anwar’s lawyers, Sankara Nair. His team of lawyers, led by DAP chairman, Karpal Singh, announced they would file an appeal at the Federal Court on Monday. The former deputy prime minister who returned to Parliament after winning the Permatang Pauh seat in a by-election last year is charged with performing sex against the order of nature for the second time in his career under strikingly similar circumstances to the one he went through a decade ago. Anwar, 62, claims the charge is politically-motivated to effectively prevent him from taking over Putrajaya. He faces a jail term of up to 20 years if found guilty.He has also separately filed several other suits against the prosecution. The Kuala Lumpur High Court will hear Anwar’s bid to strike out the sodomy charge against him on Nov 23. It will also decide when to start trial the same day. source : themalaysianinsider