A delegation of European Union parliamentarians has expressed doubts over the fairness of the trials of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

"The Malaysian Prime Minister has every right to sack his deputy, but the trials which followed have been rather strange," said European Union MP Richard Corbett.

"There are also clear questions on the independence of the judiciary and the degree of independence of the press," he told malaysiakini this morning.

Corbett is a member of a delegation from the European Parliament, which is on a three-day mission to Malaysia at the invitation of the Malaysian Parliament.

The five-member delegation is part of the EU's parliamentary working group on Asean and is headed by Portuguese MP Carlos Costas-Neves. Two other members are from Britain, one from Denmark and one from Austria.

According to Bernama , the EU delegation met with Acting Foreign Minister Azmi Khalid yesterday. In addition, they had a meeting with five opposition members led by KeADILan president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Following meetings with government officials and the opposition, the delegation today released a statement "reconfirming" the European Union stance which raised doubts over the conduct of the ongoing Anwar trials.

Anwar has been found guilty on corruption charges and is currently standing trial for sodomy. The delegation will recommend the EU to keep the case under "close scrutiny".

The delegation nevertheless welcomed the formation of the Human Rights Commission.

"The Human Rights Commission is a positive development, but it is crucial that the commission be effective and very importantly, be seen to be effective," added Corbett.

The parliamentary delegation met with commission vice-chair Harun Hashim yesterday.

At the meeting, Harun informed the parliamentarians that the commission will be conducting an in-depth examination of existing legislations, with a view to recommend possible reforms.