Anwar fails again to disqualify sodomy judge
By Tashny Sukumaran, FMT
PUTRAJAYA: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has again failed to have judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah replaced in his sodomy trial.
The Court of Appeal today rejected his attempt to reverse Zabidin’s refusal to recuse himself for allegedly pre-judging the case when he said he found complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan to be a truthful witness.
“There is no reason to overturn the decision,” appeal judge Hasan Lah said after hearing submissions from Anwar’s lawyer Karpal Singh and prosecutor Nordin Hassan.
“We uphold the High Court decision and dismiss the appeal. We will provide detailed grounds of judgment later.”
Hasan headed a three-man panel.
After hearing the decision, Karpal said the defence would file its appeal to the Federal Court tomorrow and called for a stay of the sodomy hearing until the higher court decides.
“It will be a waste of time and effort for all persons involved to proceed with the hearing,” he said.
But the appeal court rejected the application.
