Prosecutors drop outstanding charges against Malaysia's Anwar
Prosecutors drop outstanding charges against Malaysia's Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prosecutors dropped five criminal charges
against Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim Saturday, but the jailed
politician said he would rather have been tried so he could
expose a conspiracy against him.
Wearing braces around his neck and waist because of a back
injury, Anwar was brought in a wheelchair from his prison cell to
a makeshift courtroom in an office at the Sungai Buloh prison
near Kuala Lumpur for Saturday's hearing.
Plans to bring him to a regular court in the city was canceled
because he too ill to travel.
The hearing lasted less than five minutes. Prosecutor Azhar
Abdul Hamid told Judge Augustine Paul that "the prosecution at
this time is withdrawing all five remaining charges against the
accused."
Paul then formally acquitted Anwar of the charges and released
him back to prison authorities.
Anwar's politician wife and children, who were present in the
cramped courtroom, looked relieved at the verdict and embraced
him before entering another room for a private meeting.
Anwar was defiant, saying he wanted to face trial to prove his
innocence.
"It was a pleasant surprise, but I would have rather faced
them in court as I believe all these charges are trumped up,"
Anwar said.
Outside the prison, two trucks mounted with water cannons and
four trucks loaded with riot police protected the entrance. About
10 Anwar supporters gathered, but there was not violence.
The five charges date back to 1998, when Anwar was arrested
shortly after being fired from Cabinet by his former mentor,
Malaysia's longtime Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and charged
with multiple counts of corruption and sodomy. At two trials, he
was tried for only four counts of corruption and one count of
sodomy.
The court last month set a date for prosecutors to say whether
they would pursue the outstanding charges against Anwar, or drop
them. The charges were four counts of sodomy and one of
corruption. Each sodomy conviction carries a maximum 15-year
prison term; the heaviest sentence for corruption is 14 years.
Anwar claims the charges against him were concocted to prevent
him from challenging Mahathir, who denies a conspiracy.
Anwar has become a figurehead for the opposition in its
campaign to bring an end to Mahathir's almost 20-year rule. His
trials were marked by sometimes violent street protests, which
were unprecedented in normally placid Malaysia.
Azizah Ismail, Anwar's wife who formed the opposition National
Justice Party after his arrest, said the government wanted the
outstanding charges dropped because a public trial would have
stirred anti-government sentiment.