Malaysia's Anwar asks sodomy charge to be dropped

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Lawyers for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is on trial for sodomy, asked that the charge be dropped Monday following allegations that a member of the prosecution team had an affair with their client's accuser. Anwar has long maintained that the government fabricated the charge to sideline him in 2008 after his alliance made unprecedented electoral gains. Government authorities deny conspiring against Anwar. If convicted of sodomizing his 25-year-old male former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan — a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia, even if consensual — he could be imprisoned for up to 20 years. After a news website claimed that Farah Azlina Latif, a young attorney for the prosecution, had an affair with Saiful, Malaysia's attorney general ordered Farah removed from the case last week. He acknowledged there was no proof to support the claim, but said the move would protect the prosecution's credibility. Neither Saiful nor Farah has responded to the allegations. Anwar's lawyer, Karpal Singh, asked the High Court Monday to drop the sodomy charge. He said Farah might have leaked confidential information to Saiful, who should not have access to prosecution strategies. "The integrity of the prosecution is compromised," Singh said. The opposition leader has asked for the charges to be dropped before, saying there is insufficient evidence to prosecute him. Government lawyer Yusof Zainal Abiden insisted the affair speculation was only "bare allegations with no substance." Prosecutors also say Farah was a junior member of the team and never had important documents in her possession. The judge will hear detailed arguments Aug. 9. This is the second time Anwar has been accused of sodomy. He was imprisoned for six years starting 1998 for sodomy and corruption. The sodomy conviction was later overturned. Anwar said he was also filing a police complaint seeking an investigation into whether Farah and Saiful committed any crime. "This just supports our contention from the beginning that this is all a farce, a politically motivated trial and trumped up charge," Anwar told reporters. — AP