Anwar lawyer sentenced to jail for contempt<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A lawyer defending Anwar Ibrahim was
\nsentenced to three months jail on Monday after refusing to
\napologize for allegations that prosecutors tried to fabricate
\nevidence against the ousted deputy premier.<\/p>\n
In a day of high drama at Malaysia's federal courthouse,
\npresiding judge Justice Augustine Paul adjourned Anwar's trial
\nafter sentencing Zainur Zakaria for contempt of court.<\/p>\n
The judge also issued a warrant for the arrest of another
\nlawyer, Manjeet Singh Dillon, who works closely with Anwar's
\ndefense team.<\/p>\n
Zainur later won a last-minute reprieve from the court of
\nappeal, which granted an interim stay against the sentence
\npending a hearing on Friday, and was greeted by hundreds of
\nchanting wellwishers as he emerged from the court.<\/p>\n
"We want justice" shouted the group of lawyers and their
\nfamilies, as Zainur walked down the steps with his wife and
\nchildren, visibly shaken but still smiling after being granted
\nbail of 10,000 ringgit (US$2,600).<\/p>\n
"We are shocked, completely shocked," one lawyer told AFP,
\nadding that the three-month sentence was a "blow to every lawyer
\nin this country."<\/p>\n
Another lawyer hailed Zainur as "brave" for refusing the
\njudge's repeated offer to drop the charge if he apologized to the
\ncourt for his actions.<\/p>\n
"He is our hero," said the lawyer, who asked not to be named.
\nEfforts were meanwhile being made to call an emergency meeting of
\nthe Malaysian bar council to discuss Zainur's case.<\/p>\n
Anwar, dismissed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 2
\nand arrested 18 days later, has pleaded not guilty to the four
\ncorruption charges in the current trial as well as a fifth
\ncorruption charge and five of sodomy.<\/p>\n
If convicted of corruption, Anwar faces a maximum penalty of
\n14 years. The sodomy charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20
\nyears plus whipping.<\/p>\n
Zainur had refused earlier Monday to apologize for allegations
\nthat prosecutors tried to fabricate evidence against Anwar,
\ncontained in a court application he filed on Saturday on behalf
\nof the ousted deputy premier.<\/p>\n
Anwar accused the two prosecutors of "going out of their way"
\nto get his tennis partner Solaimalai Nallakaruppan to help the
\noffice of Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah by falsely implicating
\nhim in sex offenses with various women.<\/p>\n
Nalla, as he is known, was arrested earlier this year under
\nthe draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) and faces a mandatory
\ndeath sentence if convicted in his separate trial on a charge of
\npossessing 125 bullets.<\/p>\n
"A man's life -- or for that matter his freedom -- is not a
\ntool for a prosecution agency to use as a bargaining chip,"
\nManjeet wrote in a letter to the attorney general attached to the
\naffidavit.<\/p>\n
Manjeet, one of Nalla's lawyers, described the alleged moves
\nby the prosecution as "blackmail and extortion of the highest
\nculpability."<\/p>\n
Justice Paul accused Zainur of "trying to undermine the
\nintegrity of this trial" and ordered him to apologize to the
\ncourt, the attorney general, deputy public prosecutor Abdul Gani
\nPatail and his deputy Azahar Mohamed.<\/p>\n
"I am unable to tender my apologies," the defense counsel
\nreplied.<\/p>\n
The judge then ruled that Zainur would be charged with
\ncontempt of court for "filing an application with an affidavit
\nwhich contains slanderous accusations."<\/p>\n
"I find it extremely painful but the duty of the chair compels
\nthe way I act," Paul said. "This application is totally
\nbaseless."<\/p>\n
Anwar turned to reporters during a court recess before the
\nruling and said: "Where is the justice? He is doing it under my
\nname. Zainur is going to jail because of me."<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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