Saiful's father expresses worry over sodomy appeal

With two days remaining, Azlan Md Lazim is worried that there has been no indication by the Attorney-General's Chambers to file an appeal in the sodomy acquittal of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In a press release posted on his son, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's blog, he expresses the hope that the attorney-general will give his approval to file the notice of appeal soon.

"I, father of Mohd Saiful Bukhari, hope that the attorney-general as the public prosecutor will file a notice of appeal on the Jan 9 High Court decision. As a father, I am a little worried because until today there is no development in the filing of the appeal.

"There is a couple of days left to file the appeal, and I believe the honourable attorney-general will give full consideration to the filing of the notice of appeal."

Azlan urged the AG to give him and his son an opportunity for an appeal to be heard in the superior courts - both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.

"I also beg the honourable AG not to be influenced by pressure from the Bar Council or any party who thinks the appeal should not be filed," he says.

AG has until next Wednesday to appeal

Although Azlan said there were two days left, the prosecution has until next Wednesday, Jan 25, to file an appeal.

This is because Monday and Tuesday are public holidays for Chinese New Year and the prosecution has 14 days to file the appeal from the date of the verdict.

As of yesterday, there was no indication as to whether an appeal would be filed in the controversial case dubbed Sodomy II.

This is despite outgoing solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, the chief prosecutor in the case, recommending an appeal be made.

This is the second plea made by Azlan, who on Jan 11, two days after Anwar's acquittal, called a press conference and urged the prosecution to file an appeal, so as to maintain his son's and family's dignity.

Last Saturday, AG Abdul Gani Patail dodged questions from journalists as to whether an appeal would be filed.

In a related development, Attorney-General’s Chambers Appeal and Trial division head Kamaluddin Md Said again confirmed that no decision has been made today on whether the prosecution will appeal Anwar's acquittal.