Friday July 3, 2009

Anwar’s appeal dismissed, trial to be held at High Court

PUTRAJAYA: Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be tried in the High Court for his sodomy charge, the Court of Appeal ruled.

In a unanimous dismissal of his appeal against an order to move his case from the Sessions Court to the High Court, Court of Appeal Justice Abdull Hamid Embong said that the three-man bench had observed that there was “absolutely no evidence, not even misgivings, that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would not get a fair trial in the High Court”.

“The assurance given by the former Prime Minister that the Public Prosecutor (Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail) will not take any part in his prosecution is essentially a firm statement that he will get a fair and open trial,” he said.

Justice Abdull Hamid, who sat with Justices Abu Samah Nordin and Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha, handed down the judgment from a 17-page decision. The full grounds of the judgment would be provided later.

The case had originated in the Sessions Court last year before Abdul Gani signed a certificate to transfer the case to the High Court. On Nov 7, judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah ruled that the transfer certificate was invalid.

On the transfer certificate, which was issued under Section 418A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), Justice Abdull Hamid ruled that it conferred on the A-G a statutory power to have any case transferred to any forum of his choice.

“We agree with Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden’s submissions when he said that ‘The subordinate court has no jurisdiction and discretion but to effect the transfer upon the tendering of the said certificate’.

“We are of the opinion, therefore, that on this issue alone, the Sessions Court had been wrong in finding that the certificate was invalid. For this reason alone, this appeal should be dismissed,” he said.

In an immediate response outside the courtroom, Anwar, who was in court with his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, said he was disgusted by the decision.

Anwar is charged with sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 24, at a condominium in Bukit Damansara on June 26 last year.

Anwar also said he would discuss with his lawyers before deciding if they would apply for a review of the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

By procedure, when a case originates from the subordinate courts, the final appeal is at the Court of Appeal. However, with the current ruling by the Court of Appeal, Anwar can apply to the court to review its own decision.

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