Malaysian’s Lawyers Urge Mistrial
Lawyers defending Malaysia’s ousted deputy prime minister on a sodomy charge demanded a mistrial Monday after prosecutors changed the year they say the alleged offenses occurred.
The prosecution originally said Anwar Ibrahim committed “carnal intercourse” against his former family driver, Azizan abu Bakar, in May 1994. The state then changed the date to May 1992.
Prosecutors asked High Court Judge Ariffin Jaka on Monday to amend and broaden the time frame for the alleged acts of sodomy, now claiming they took place between January and March of 1993.
Anwar has repeatedly denied the charges against him, saying he is a victim of a political conspiracy to quash his challenge to his onetime mentor, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. His defense team demanded that the prosecution supply specific dates.
Anwar was sentenced to six years in prison April 14 after another judge found him guilty on four counts of abuse of power. The prosecution claimed Anwar had illegal sex with men and women and then forced police to cover up his acts.
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