Ex-driver says Anwar sodomized him
Ex-driver says Anwar sodomized him
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): The former driver of Malaysia's sacked finance minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday he stood by allegations he made last year accusing Anwar of committing homosexual acts with him against his will.
Azizan Abu Bakar, testifying in Anwar's corruption and sex trial, told the capital's High Court he stood by a statement he wrote saying he had repeatedly been "a victim of homosexual acts by Anwar Ibrahim" in 1992.
The former driver, who said he was now a sales and administration executive, made the allegations in a letter dated Aug. 5, 1997, which he read to the court.
The court is examining four charges that Anwar had used his authority to force police to obtain a retraction from the driver, who worked for Anwar's family between 1989 and 1992.
Anwar, who was sacked and arrested in September, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said Azizan and another accuser were part of a plot to destroy his political career.
His trial is at the heart of simmering civil unrest in Malaysia.
Reading from the 1997 letter, Azizan told the hushed court: "In the name of Allah, I, Azizan Abu Bakar, make a sworn statement that I have been a victim of homosexual acts by Anwar Ibrahim who now holds the position of deputy prime minister."
"Is what you read entirely true?" prosecutor Abdul Gani Patail asked Azizan.
"It's entirely true," said the prosecution witness, who was a driver for Anwar's family from 1989 until 1992.
His statement was sent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in August 1997 by Ummi Hafilda Ali, the sister of Anwar's former political secretary, who attached her own statement accusing Anwar of adultery and sodomy, which is a crime in Malaysia.
Both Azizan and Ummi retracted their allegations later in the same month after being arrested by police.
The government alleges that Anwar urged police to force the two accusers to retract their allegations. The former cabinet minister says they had fabricated the allegations as part of a high-level conspiracy against him.
His eyes downcast, Azizan testified in a quiet voice. "This heinous act was committed several times in 1992 against my will. It regularly took place in luxurious hotels...without the knowledge of the public and his wife," he said, reading from his 1997 statement.
In another development, the judge in the trial of Anwar canceled on Wednesday a warrant to arrest a lawyer working closely with the defense team after receiving an apology for the uproar caused by the release of a statement.
Justice Augustine Paul issued a warrant for the arrest of Manjeet Singh Dillon on Monday after sentencing Anwar's defense counsel Zainur Zakaria to three months in jail for contempt of court.
Zainur had filed an application seeking the removal of two prosecutors from the trial for allegedly going "out of their way" to falsely implicate Anwar in sexual offenses with various women.
The application, filed on Anwar's behalf on Saturday, contained a statutory declaration by Manjeet and a letter to the attorney general alleging "blackmail and extortion of the highest culpability" by the prosecutors.
The sensational trial of Anwar has come under the scrutiny of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, a senior official said on Wednesday.
"The case of Anwar Ibrahim is before the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and it will be considered in due course," said Clyde Holding, visiting head of IPU's committee on human rights.