Anger mounts over Anwar's conviction in Malaysia

Anger mounts over Anwar's conviction in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia was hit by a wave of
criticism on Wednesday over the conviction of former finance
minister Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy, with the United States saying
it was outraged by his nine-year jail sentence.

But Malaysia said on Wednesday Anwar had been tried fairly and
rejected international condemnation of the verdict and the
nation's judicial system.

"I am quite sure the court has given this sentence because the
court thinks that is the right punishment for whatever," Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in an interview with the Saudi
Gazette which was reprinted in his party's online newspaper. "It
is entirely for the court to decide."

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said allegations the trial
was flawed were unwarranted and that "These allegations are
obviously biased and reflect a shallow appreciation of Malaysia".

Canada, a Geneva-based jurists' group and the World Bank chief
joined Australia, New Zealand and human rights bodies in
criticizing a Malaysian judge's decision on Tuesday to sentence
Anwar to nine years in jail.

High Court Judge Arifin Jaka found the former finance minister
and his adopted brother guilty of sodomy at the end of a 14-month
trial that split the country and spurred calls for democratic
reforms.

In a strongly worded statement, the State Department said it
shared the concern of many Malaysian and international observers
about what it called the "questionable" fairness of the trial.

"The United States is very distressed by the Aug. 8 conviction
of the former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and his adopted
brother on sodomy charges," the department said.

"We are also outraged by the imposition of a nine-year
sentence to be added consecutively to the six-year sentence that
Anwar is currently serving on his previous corruption
conviction," the statement added.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters that
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would make her concern
known to the Malaysian government.

In a sign of frosty relations between the two countries, U.S.
Defense Secretary William Cohen, who is visiting Southeast Asia
next month, has left Malaysia off his itinerary.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn said he was deeply
distressed by the prison term, while Australia's Prime Minister
John Howard said he was worried "the judiciary there is not as
independent as used to be the case".

Howard told a Melbourne radio station: "It does seem to be
part of a series of events that represents some kind of political
campaign against Anwar and that is a matter of very great
concern."

Canadian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marie-Christine Lilkoff
said "(Canada) regards the convictions as a result of a trial
that was seriously flawed".

The International Commission of Jurists condemned the ruling
as politically motivated.

The Geneva-based group, composed of 45 jurists who defend the
rule of law worldwide, criticized comments by Mahathir during the
trial as "prejudicial and entirely inconsistent with a free and
independent judiciary".

Anwar, sacked as finance minister and deputy prime minister in
September 1998, testified that Mahathir and his associates framed
him in a sex scandal to drive him from office and stave off a
possible leadership challenge.

Newspapers around the world criticized the verdict, with Hong
Kong's South China Morning Post saying it was unjust and might
threaten the country's stability.

Thailand's The Nation newspaper said the decision was a
serious setback to Malaysia's judiciary.