BATAL KE WASHINGTON: 1 July Anwar hadir ke Mahkamah.

ANWAR IBRAHIM’S VISIT TO WASHINGTON DC FOR KEYNOTE ADDRESS ON US MUSLIM WORLD BUSINESS COOPERATION HAMPERED BY MALAYSIAN COURTS

The unprecedented actions taken by the Malaysian courts to expedite the beginning of Anwar Ibrahim’s trial have forced him to abandon his plans to travel to Washington DC this month. He will deliver his already scheduled keynote address at the “Business Opportunities in the Muslim World” conference in Washington DC on June 26th at 12:00 PM EST via live video teleconference from Kuala Lumpur.

The non-cooperation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has impeded the preparation of the best defense that Mr. Ibrahim is lawfully entitled to, and the insistence of the Malaysian courts to begin his trial in early July despite the repeated requests by his lawyers for access to basic discovery items, requires Mr. Ibrahim be present in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to attend to his various applications including to quash the charges leveled against him. This
reprehensible conduct by the Prosecutors has been affirmed by Anwar’s lawyer S N Nair in his statement issued by his office on 10th June 2009 which amongst others, has affirmed that Anwar will not get a fair trial in the Malaysian courts.

The actions of the Courts to expedite the hearing of Mr. Ibrahim’s various preliminary motions, including the pending appeal to the Court of Appeal, appear unprecedented. These applications, including a request for documents in possession of the Public prosecutor that are favorable to Mr. Ibrahim as well as an application to quash the charges altogether, under normal circumstances will take some time for the Courts to consider.

We reiterate that the Court’s insistence on preferring a charge of sodomy that contravenes medical records indicates malicious intent, that the charges are politically motivated and that this trial would be a travesty of justice akin to what Anwar Ibrahim faced in 1998-1999.

OFFICE OF ANWAR IBRAHIM