Saiful’s father pleads with A-G to appeal sodomy verdict
(The Malaysian Insider) – Azlan Mohd Lazim, the father of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy accuser Saiful Bukhairi Azlan, pleaded with the Attorney-General (A-G) today to appeal Monday’s court verdict, vowing he will “fight to the end” to seek justice for his son.
The 58-year-old government pensioner repeatedly slammed the Bar Council for urging the prosecution to do otherwise, pointing out that it was his son’s constitutional right to seek an appeal.
“For the sake of my son, I plead with the A-G to appeal the decision. It is hoped that the A-G’s Chambers would not be influenced by the Bar Council or any other party,” he told a press conference at his residence here this evening.
“As a father, I will continue to stand by my son and continue this struggle to ensure he gets the justice he deserves in order to return honour to his name and the family.
“We will fight to the end — that is my promise,” he added.
Anwar, the 64-year-old leader of opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR), was on Monday acquitted of a sodomy charge when trial judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah ruled that the prosecution had not done enough to prove he had committed the act on Mohd Saiful, his former aide.
The judge noted the lack of full disclosure, as well as the unreliability of both the DNA evidence presented and the prosecution team’s key witness, Saiful.
Since the acquittal, much focus has been on the 26-year-old Saiful and whether the prosecution in the case would appeal the verdict, which is said to be a boost to the opposition pact.
Under heavy fire from Anwar’s supporters, Saiful has since taken to social media channels Twitter and Facebook to voice his thoughts.
“My family and I hope the prosecution will bring this case to the Appeals Court,” he had said.
