Anwar willing to risk jail over sodomy charges
Published on: Monday, October 20, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told a British newspaper he was willing to risk imprisonment over sodomy charges in order to fight the Barisan Nasional government.Anwar is in the United Kingdom for a consultation meeting on higher education in the Muslim world held at the University of Westminster.Anwar told The Telegraph that other scholars he met had asked him to remain abroad to avoid the Federal Court's decision later this month on his final sodomy appeal.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Most scholars urged me to remain behind as they cannot fathom… seeing me in prison. I said, no, it is a matter of conviction."I know the difficulties, tribulations of fighting a corrupt, opaque system."It is difficult for me, for my family and friends, but I still have a glimmer of hope that sanity will prevail, that the federal court will decide based on fact and law and not work under the thumb of the executive," he told The Telegraph."Therefore, I have decided to return to my village to fight and continue the struggle for Malaysia, for the country I love," the PKR de facto leader said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Anwar will face the Federal Court on October 28 and 29 for its decision against the Court of Appeal's ruling that overturned his sodomy acquittal.The High Court on January 9, 2012 had acquitted Anwar of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Anwar had been charged with committing sodomy on Saiful at the Desa Damansara condominium in Bukit Damansara, between 3.10 pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
ADVERTISEMENT
Anwar was sentenced to five years' jail when the Court of Appeal on March 7 overturned his sodomy acquittal.The three-man Court of Appeal bench allowed Anwar a stay of execution pending his appeal at the Federal Court. He was released on a RM10,000 bail.The prosecution has also cross-appealed for a heavier sentence. Sodomy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' jail. If the Federal Court upholds his conviction, it will be the end of Anwar's political career.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
