Anwar to raise 29 grounds for appeal
The appeal, which is set to be heard next Monday, will highlight various exhibits and witnesses crucial to the defence case but ruled inadmissible by High Court judge Augustine Paul.
The 15-page petition of appeal filed by defence counsel Sankara Nair submits that Paul "erred in law and fact" in holding that the prosecution had discharged the burden cast on them and calling on Anwar to make his defence.
"The learned judge failed to direct his mind to matters relevant to the issues before him but came to his conclusions based on premises which were false. He failed to exercise an objective mind in the trial," the application states.
The points raised by the application include the failure by Paul to properly evaluate the evidence given by Special Branch director Mohd Said Awang and deputy director Amir Junus. Said Awang had told the court he might, depending on the situation, be "prepared to lie" in order to carry out instructions from his superior officers.
The application also points out that Paul failed to give due regard to the fact that evidence from key prosecution witnesses, Azizan Abu Bakar and Ummi Hafilda Ali, had no or little value in law and was totally unreliable as they were subjected by Special Branch to the process known as "turning over".
In his evidence, Said Awang agreed his department had used "turning over" techniques on those arrested by the police. Azizan, a former driver for Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Ismail, and Ummi were detained in Bukit Aman following letters which they wrote to the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad alleging that Anwar forced sex on Azizan.
Both Azizan and Ummi, sister of Anwar's former private secretary Azmin Ali, told the court that they were subjected to long hours of interrogation while in police custody. The "turning over" process involved the use of threats and coercion, the application of psychological pressure and trickery upon detainees during interrogation.
Furthermore, the defence notes that the allegations of sexual misconduct made by Ummi were not supported by the seminal stains found on the mattress and could not be proved by the prosecution. A mattress, seized from Anwar's adopted brother Sukma Dermawan's apartment, was brought in to court as Azizan alleged that he was sodomised on it.
Anwar and Sukma currently stand trial for sodomising Azizan "on one night between January and March 1993 at 7.45pm". Sukma is also charged with abetting and aiding Anwar to force sex on the former driver.
Anwar has furnished a defence of alibi for the stipulated time frame and his alibi is yet to be challenged by the prosecution. The one-time heir apparent is currently serving a six-year jail term for corruption. Anwar has repeatedly denied all charges and said they were fabricated by Mahathir's aides and senior politicians to end his political career.
Defence team's lead counsel for the appeal, Raja Aziz Addruse, is also expected to highlight the contradictions in Azizan's evidence at the appeal hearing. Azizan completely contradicted his sodomy allegations when he told defence counsel Christopher Fernando that he continued visiting Anwar's house as he was never sodomised.
Anwar was convicted of corruption for allegedly trying to stop police investigations into the letters written by Azizan and Ummi.
The petition records an appeal from Anwar who "prays that the conviction and sentence on him may be set aside or that the sentence on him may be reduced". Raja Aziz will be assisted by Haji Sulaiman Abdullah and Gurbachan Singh.
The appeal hearing is expected to take a few days and will be presided by three judges. It is expected that the President of the Court of Appeal, Lamin Yunus, would sit with two of his peers.
In the event the defence is unsuccessful, they have a right to appeal further to the Federal Court. Nair, however is confident of winning the appeal. "We have made a strong case thus far," he told malaysiakini today.
