Following what he described as "passionate" submissions by his lawyers, Anwar Ibrahim argued that an acquittal is "warranted".

 

Speaking to reporters at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya this afternoon, the opposition leader said he was "sickened" by the prosecution's appeal to enhance his prison sentence.

 

“I feel confident that any other courts which metes justice, when hearing such submissions for the past three days, would give an acquittal.

 

“This is unlike the Court of Appeal. What we see in the defence submissions are based on facts. There is no other option except to acquit all these frivolous charges.

 

“They claim they want to enhance my sentence. This is sickening, after one has heard the passionate arguments by the defence,” he told reporters at the end of today's proceedings.

 

Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram ( left) , is leading Anwar's 14 member defence team, replacing former Bar Council president Sulaiman Abdullah, who has yet to fully recover from leg surgery.

 

Late DAP chairperson Karpal Singh had led the defence throughout Anwar's trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court and the prosecution's appeal at the Court of Appeal.

 

Five year sentence

The Court of Appeal, which overturned Anwar's acquittal by the High Court, had sentenced him to five years in prison for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

 

The Federal Court is currently hearing Anwar's appeal, with lead prosecutor Shafee Abdullah  slated to deliver his submission tomorrow.

 

Meanwhile, Shafee ( right ) told reporters that he had requested the court to allow his submission to be made tomorrow morning instead of today, because he needed more time to organise it.

 

He said the defence had added one ground on Tuesday, and he has to submit to that point.

 

According to him, this is because "15 percent" of his submissions were new whereas the remaining 85 percent concerned issues raised in the lower courts.

 

Shafee said that he will begin tomorrow with stating the facts of the case.

 

“What the defence had given are merely partial facts. Following that, I will reply to the points raised by Sri Ram,” he said.

Related stories

'Semen found but no proof of penetration'

'Justice is for small people like Saiful, too'

K-Y jell to DNA: Defence raises doubt after doubt

Survey shows M'sians lack faith in judiciary

'Amused' Bar Council zips lips on Sri Ram issue

Don: Bar Council ruling on judges 'not law'

So why are Saiful backers covering their faces?

KJ, it’s not Anwar but judiciary on trial

Anwar’s fate in the hands of five judges

What's wrong, law allows ex-judges as counsel