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by Mohammed Ayub Ali Khan for IOL CHICAGO (Islam Online & News Agencies) Aug 8 - Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, 52, and adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, were found guilty Tuesday of sodomy charges. Judge Arifin Jaka found both of the accused guilty as charged. Ibrahim has been sentenced to nine years in jail, while Madja was given six years and four strokes of the rattan cane on each of the two sodomy offences. Ibrahim is already serving 6 years on corruption charges and is barred from participating in politics for five years after his release. After issuing the verdict, the judge allowed Anwar to make a brief address to the court - a standard procedure here, which defendants normally use to appeal for a mitigated sentence. But Anwar took the opportunity to lash out at Ariffin and Mahathir, and when the judge tried to silence the defendant, the two got into a shouting match. "This case has nothing to do with a crime," Anwar said, standing behind his attorneys in a wooden dock. "There has been no trial in this courtroom. Only political persecution." In Malaysia, he said, "no one is above the law, but that principle doesn't apply to Mahathir Mohamed." Anwar called himself a "victim of a political conspiracy through a web of intrigue orchestrated by the maestro, Mahathir Mohamed." Seething, the judge repeatedly attempted to cut off Anwar. When the defendant would not stop talking, the judge finally shouted, "Stop it!" A few minutes later, he called Anwar "a sick man." "You are a sick judge," Anwar shot back. The marathon trial lasting through 118 days of testimony has been called Malaysia's trial of the century. In the bizarre trial, the prosecution introduced a mattress as evidence, saying it contained semen stains. Ibrahim family chauffeur Azizan Abu Bakr, who alleged that Ibrahim and his brother had sodomized him, changed the date of the occurrence to1992 after first alleging that the incident occurred one night in the month of May 1994. And then, when Ibrahim's lawyers noted that the building in which the alleged act took place was under construction in 1992, the prosecution again changed the date: to 1993. "I'm satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. I therefore find both the accused guilty as per the charge," Judge Ariffin said, adding, "There is no necessity for Azizan to lie, he has nothing to gain, but everything to lose. There were some discrepancies, but they were explained." A calm and peaceful Ibrahim hugged his wife and daughter after the verdict and said, "I cannot blame (Ariffin), he is following orders," he said. "You have to be realistic". Anwar has always vehemently denied the charges and said that he is a victim of a political conspiracy initiated by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad because Ibrahim was a political threat who had intended to expose corruption. Mahathir, aged 74 and in power since 1981, denies any plot. The trial also raised troubling questions, including the fairness, of the Malaysian judiciary. Two leaders of opposition parties backing Ibrahim, National Justice Party (Keadilan) leader Tian Chua and reformist Abd Malik Hussin were arrested as they tried to enter the court building. |
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