Senior Aussie lawyer says judges in Anwar trial ignored evidence

Queen's Council, Mark Trowell says the Federal Court ignored key evidence in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, February 14, 2015.

A senior Australian advocate who attended the recent Federal Court proceeding of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy appeal has criticised the guilty verdict, saying the judges ignored key evidence and credibility issues surrounding the complainant.

"In reaching these conclusions the court rejected or ignored the evidence that raised serious doubts about the reliability of so-called independence evidence and the credibility of the complainant," said Queen's Council, Mark Trowell.

Trowell, who wrote a book on the case, observed the trial on behalf of Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, LAWASIA and the Law Council of Australia.

The Federal Court on February 10 upheld the guilty verdict and five-year prison sentence on Anwar, effectively disqualifying him from active politics.

Trowell described as "superficial" the court's acceptance of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's testimony, and recalled the affair Saiful had had with a member of the prosecution team.

He said the court also ignored Saiful's meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and senior policemen days before the alleged incident, adding that all this showed "prospect of collusion against Anwar".

Trowell also cited Australian forensic experts David Wells and Brian McDonald who had voiced concern over the DNA evidence used in Anwar’s case.

“Each expert was also critical of how the government chemists interpreted the results, given the known history of the samples,” he said.

“It is my view that, if the court had proper regard to the facts and the law, Anwar Ibrahim should never have been convicted.”

Several countries, including the US, the United Kingdom, European Union (EU), Canada and Australia, have also expressed concerns about the Federal Court’s verdict, while Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong on February 11 said there were “glaring anomalies” in the case.

International observers said that Anwar’s case raised questions about the independence and fairness of Malaysia’s judiciary, and the country’s rule of law.

- TMI