Court refuses to give Anwar more time to find new lawyer
(Suara Keadilan) – The Kuala Lumpur High Court has refused to grant Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s more time to appoint a new lead counsel after his lawyer discharged himself due to illness.
“I am confident there will be no injustice. The request for adjournment is denied and the case will go on,” said High Court judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah.
Sivarasa Rasiah, a lawyer for Anwar who temporarily took over the lead role, had appealed to the court, saying that the reform icon was entitled to automatic trial postponement if counsel discharged himself.
Sivarasa also said since it took the prosecution a year to bring the case to court, a short postponement would not hurt anyone now. But the lead prosecutor objected. The judge then ordered the hearing to proceed
Insisting the charges were a conspiracy to kill off Anwar’s political career, Sivarasa then told the court the defence team would proceed “but under protest”.
“This is bad news for me. I had great confidence in Sulaiman,” Anwar later told reporters. “As it stands, the vibes are not too good. I need time to consult with my lawyers but the judge wants to proceed.”
Application to compel government to furnish key documents
A prominent lawyer, Sulaiman is in hospital for treatment and has sought to be discharged not just from Anwar’s trial but from all his other cases.
The court then began hearing the reform icon’s application to compel the government to provide him with access to key evidence needed to prepare his defence.
Edward Bon, another of Anwar’s nine-member legal team, took over from Sivarasa. Edmund told the court that the prosecution was compelled by law to provide evidence to the defence three weeks before trial began, not during trial.
He said his team was not “fishing” for evidence but asking for basic materials such as the June 25-27 CCTV tape recordings at the alleged scene of crime.
He also revealed that until now, the prosecution has failed to provide the defence a list of witnesses it plans to call for Anwar trial. This is a basic legal right under criminal law.
The hearing was later adjourned to Thursday, when Anwar’s lawyers will continue their rebuttal.
The court was due to hear applications from Anwar to dismiss the entire prosecution team for bias as key figures, such as Attorney-General Gani Patail, have been named in other cases involving fabrication of evidence against him.
The court will also hear an application to strike out the entire sodomy charge as two hospital reports – including from the government-run Hospital Kuala Lumpur – showed no evidence that the complainant had been sodomised at all.
If all his applications are dismissed, then his trial proper will begin.
[More to come]
