The last-minute filing by the Attorney General’s chambers to appeal against the January 9 acquittal of parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of the sodomy charge has been described as politically motivated.
“When the appeal was made, I thought it was more of a political decision.
"Why was the verdict involving Abdul Razak Baginda not appealed? That was a bigger case as it affected the country's reputation at the international level,” said PAS lawyer Hanipa Maidin , referring to the murder trial of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu involving Razak, the former aide to prime minister Najib Razak, and two others.
Razak was however acquitted in October 2008 of the murder charge without having to enter defence, while the two others had been found guilty and sentenced to death.
The appeal against the verdict today was filed at 4.30pm at the KL High Court criminal registry, following a request from sodomy accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The High Court had last week acquitted Anwar of the charge citing unreliable DNA evidences as reason.
According to Hanipa, the doubts which arose during the course of the trial should have been enough reason not to pursue the case further.
He warned that such a move could bring disrepute to the image of Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail, who he said was already perceived as a tool of Barisan Nasional.
No comments:
Post a Comment