Backers of Anwar accuser protest outside court
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Supporters of the man who accused Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy protested yesterday outside the court where he was appealing against his conviction.
About 50 supporters of Saiful Bukhari Azlan protested in front of the Federal Court compound in the administrative capital of Putrajaya and chanted: “Punish Anwar. Arrest the sodomiser.”
On the fifth day of the appeal, a five-member panel heard lead prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah counter earlier claims by Anwar’s lawyers that DNA samples presented in the court were contaminated.
The Court of Appeal had found Anwar guilty of sodomising Saiful in an upscale condominium on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2008, and sentenced him to five years in prison.
If the ruling goes against Anwar, the 67-year-old opposition legislator will go to prison and lose his seat in parliament. He will also be barred from running for any political position for five years after finishing his prison term, possibly putting an end to his attempts to become the leader of the Southeast Asian country.
Local and international human rights group believe that the case against Anwar was fabricated in a bid to silence him and weaken the opposition.
