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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia— Azizan Abu Bakar, the key prosecution witness against
former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has been allowed by Justice Arifin Jaka to testify
he was sodomized by his boss in spite of his having made conflicting statements about the
year in which he says it happened.
|  Anwar Ibrahim |
Anwar Ibrahim, who is married and considered by Malaysia's present leadership to be a political rival,
contends that the charges against him are false. His lawyers sought to have the chauffeur's testimony
declared invalid on grounds the driver had contradicted himself and had lied to the court. The judge, however, refused to allow such a challenge of the witness's credibility.
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Anwar's adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan, has also been charged for allegedly sodomizing
Azizan Abu Bakar. The former deputy premier, if convicted, could be sentenced to 20 years in
prison.
Anwar had initially been charged with sexually assaulting Azizan in May 1994. The
date was amended first to May 1992 and later changed to between January and March 1993.
The 1993 date was decided upon after Anwar's lawyers
pointed out that the apartment in which the sodomy was alleged to have
taken place had not been readied for occupation in 1992.
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Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Malaysia's Anwar Pleads Not Guilty to Sodomy Charges
Malaysia: Group Aims to "Wipe Out" Homosexuals
Malaysian Sodomy Trial Update
Related Sites:
Anwar Online
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In an earlier trial Azizian had claimed not to have been sodomized after
1992. In an attempt to validate later dates in the current trial, however, he stated
he'd meant to say he hadn't been sodomized in Anwar's residence
since 1992.
A lawyer for the defense observed that: "The court in this country is not living up to
expectations. The Bar will not take anything thrust upon us. The judge has a duty
to make a ruling upon what is submitted. Judges are not maharajahs…Let's not
make a mockery of justice in this country."
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