The Federal Court will hear Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's appeal to compel the prosecution to hand over evidence crucial for his defence next Wednesday.

According to Sankara Nair, one of Anwar’s defence lawyers, the Federal Court has fixed the case for hearing on Jan 6 at 9am in the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya.

the charge against anwar ibrahim sodomy allegation trial 070808 This will be Anwar's final chance to secure documents and other evidence which he claimed are crucial to his defence against the sodomy charges.

The Federal Court is expected to make its decision on the appeal before the High Court begins hearing the sodomy trial, which is scheduled to run for one month, from Jan 25 to Feb 25.

On July 16, in a rare victory for Anwar , the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the prosecution to hand over certain documents, including copies of witness statements, CCTV recordings and medical reports to the defence team.

Anwar not allowed to ‘fish’ for information

However, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision last month, allowing the prosecution’s appeal against the High Court decision and dismissing Anwar’s cross appeal.

The appellate court, in its decision, said that an accused person facing a criminal charge is not permitted to "fish" for information that belongs to the prosecution before the trial commences

Karpal Singh is leading Anwar's defence team and he is assisted by lawyers R Sivarasa, Sankara and Leela Jesunathan.

Anwar, 62, had claimed trial on March 10 to sodomising his former personal aide Mohd Saiful, 24, at a condominium in Bukit Damansara, last year.