Aussie parliamentarians may take up Anwars case to UN

comments     Leong Kar Yen     Published     Updated

Australian opposition members may take up ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's case to the United Nations following the Federal Court's dismissal of his appeal against his corruption conviction, according to an Australian Associated Press (AAP) report yesterday.

When contacted today, Anwar's wife and Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said that Australia's Labour Party parliamentarian Laurie Brereton spoke to her on July 10, the day the Federal Court upheld Anwar's 1999 conviction. She was in Australia for a three-day visit then.

"Brereton called me and said that it was a bi-partisan decision to bring this up to the UN. He also said a delegation had been formed for this.

"He added that he was part of the delegation and that it was important for them to bring this up," she said.

However, Wan Azizah said she did not know when the delegation would bring the matter before the UN.

Anything helps

Asked what she thought of the move, she replied that anything helps.

"I think that this action and with what the US and European Union have said, it disproves what prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has claimed about Anwar being forgotten," said Wan Azizah.

Anwar, a rising star in the political scene saw his dreams of becoming the next premier shattered when Mahathir sacked him from Umno and the cabinet in 1998 for alleged corruption and sexual misconduct.

The following year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court found him guilty on four counts of corrupt practises and slapped him with a six-year jail sentence.

In Aug 2000, Anwar was found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to another nine years.

The Federal Court was the ex-deputy premier's final avenue but his appeal was unanimously dismissed by Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Chief Judge of the High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim and Federal Court judge Haidar Mohd Noor.

The decision evoked strong criticisms from the United States, the European Union and civil society groups.

Meanwhile, Anwar is still awaiting the date of his sodomy appeal before the Court of Appeals.



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