Jailed ex-deputy leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday demanded that two of three judges assigned to hear his final appeal against a sodomy conviction step down from the case because they had shown bias against him or were too inexperienced.
The demand delayed the start of the appeal, Anwar's final chance at winning his freedom in a court battle that is now in its sixth year.
Anwar maintains the sodomy case was fabricated by political enemies shortly after his 1998 ouster as deputy prime minister to prevent him from challenging then-leader Mahathir Mohamad -- a charge the government denied although the US consider Anwar a political prisoner.
Anwar was arrested after Mahathir released lurid details of alleged homosexual trysts between Anwar and his driver. Anwar was convicted at separate trials for corruption and sodomy -- a crime in mostly Muslim Malaysia -- and sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison. He has served the corruption sentence.
Anwar yesterday joked with supporters and chatted with his wife, opposition leader Azizah Ismail, before telling reporters he expected to lose the appeal because the judges would not give him a fair hearing.
"This is a facade of judicial independence," Anwar said. "It's a forgone conclusion. You can see it in the demeanor of the judges."
The three-judge panel in the Federal Court is deciding whether Anwar's sodomy trial was flawed -- as many rights groups and international observers believe. Anwar is also asking to be released on bail while the hearing proceeds.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
Two former Chilean ministers are among four candidates competing this weekend for the presidential nomination of the left ahead of November elections dominated by rising levels of violent crime. More than 15 million voters are eligible to choose today between former minister of labor Jeannette Jara, former minister of the interior Carolina Toha and two members of parliament, Gonzalo Winter and Jaime Mulet, to represent the left against a resurgent right. The primary is open to members of the parties within Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who are not affiliated with specific parties. A recent poll by the
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Irish-language rap group Kneecap on Saturday gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November last year. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury,
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