Anwar hurls abuse in court

2004-01-21 11:08

Putrajaya, Malaysia - Malaysia's jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was denied bail on Wednesday, prompting him to stand up in court and shout abuse at the judges.

He called the three judges of the court of appeal "spineless" and "under the thumb of the executive", before they demanded his lawyer restrain him and then walked out of the courtroom.

Anwar shouted after them: "Judges are running away, shame on you."

The former deputy prime minister has served four years in jail on corruption charges and sought bail while awaiting the outcome of an appeal against his conviction for sodomy, for which he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

The Court of Appeal had been considering the bail application since argument ended on July 23 after a hearing that began last April.

"For nine months this application has been with you - do you have a problem of amnesia?" Anwar asked.

The United States and Amnesty International regard Anwar as a political prisoner and on Tuesday Human Rights Watch urged the court to grant him bail.

"Releasing Anwar would end the injustice he's suffered and signal a renewed spirit of independence for Malaysia's judiciary," said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked the charismatic and popular Anwar in 1998 and he was later sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison on charges Anwar says were trumped up to prevent him from making a challenge for the premiership.

Some supporters hoped that his release might now be possible after Mahathir retired last October and was replaced by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

If granted bail, Anwar also wanted to travel abroad for treatment for a slipped disc in his back, which he says happened in a police assault when he was first arrested.

- AFP