Sodomy scandal: Court clears Malaysia political icon

KUALA LUMPUR?? A Malaysian court acquitted opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy charges Monday, a surprise ruling that could accelerate the political comeback of one of Asia's most celebrated reformers ahead of an expected election this year.

"Justice has been done. I am vindicated," the father of six told thousands of supporters outside Kuala Lumpur's High Court at the end of a case that captivated the Muslim-majority nation since the accusations were made in 2008. Some shouted "God is Great" and "reformasi" (reform).

After a two-year trial filled with explicit sexual allegations that captivated and polarized the country, a High Court judge took only two minutes to deliver the verdict Monday. He ruled that the prosecution's DNA evidence was not enough to convict the 64-year-old Anwar of sodomizing a male former aide who at the time was 23.

The verdict upended Anwar's worst-case scenario of a 20-year prison sentence following a trial that polarized public opinion.??

Anwar pledged to focus his energies on toppling the government in elections expected later this year.

It was the second time Anwar was charged under the law.

Anwar was imprisoned for six years after being ousted as deputy prime minister in 1998 on charges of sodomizing his former family driver and abusing his power. Sodomy, even consensual, is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but the law against it is seldom enforced.

'Irregularities'
Anwar's earlier trials were criticized by foreign governments and rights groups that called Anwar's incarceration an attempt to extinguish his challenge to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Anwar said he was "pleasantly shocked" by the verdict, but remained convinced the case was politically motivated. "To assume the judiciary is independent is a bit far-fetched," Anwar told The Associated Press.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of New York-based Human Rights Watch's Asian division, said Anwar should never have been charged in the first place, adding that the case had been "politically motivated and plagued with irregularities."

Three explosions were heard in the parking area outside the courthouse around the time of the verdict, causing minor injuries to five people and damaging half a dozen cars and motorbikes. A police spokesman said three home-made explosives were detonated but it was unclear who was responsible.

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Anwar has promoted a vision for Malaysia that would abolish or scale back its most authoritarian laws and scrap a system of ethnic preferences for Malays that ethnic-Chinese and ethnic-Indian Malaysians say is unfair and has been cited by even some prominent Malays for holding Malaysia back.

In the 1990s, Anwar was Malaysia's political star, heir-apparent to Mohamad, his goateed, bespectacled face appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 1997 next to words "The Future of Asia."

Nepotism
But he was sacked a year later as deputy prime minister and finance minister after campaigning against corruption and nepotism in politics, and then jailed on sodomy and corruption charges that Anwar and rights groups said were trumped up.

He spent six years in prison until his sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004, and then swiftly returned to politics as the head of a revitalized, multi-ethnic opposition whose strong showing in 2008's elections deprived the ruling National Front of its traditional two-thirds majority in parliament.

Within weeks of that victory, and with his three-party Pakatan coalition close to a parliamentary majority, a former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, filed a criminal complaint accusing Anwar of sodomizing him.

Anwar called the charges a "vile and despicable attempt at character assassination" by the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition. A large majority of Malaysians surveyed in opinion polls also doubted the merit of the charges.

Many Malaysians voiced relief following Monday's verdict.

"I hope this brings closure to the scandal. Everyone I know is sick and tired of this case. It hasn't been healthy for our country to be obsessed about this," said Lim Hon Choong, a project manager for a consumer goods company.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45923771/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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