updated version

All five remaining criminal charges against jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim have been withdrawn by the High Court which convened at the Sungai Buloh Prison this morning.

Justice Augustine Paul acquitted and discharged the charges, four on sodomy and one on corrupt practice, following an application by the prosecution.

The charges had been scheduled for mention today at the prison administration building to facilitate Anwar who was suffering from chronic slipped disc. He is undergoing a 15-year jail sentence for corruption and sodomy at the prison. Anwar's appeal against the conviction and sentencing for both crimes is yet to be heard by the higher courts.

Anwar, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair in a makeshift dock, looked calm when the charges were dropped.

"It was a pleasant surprise, but I would have preferred them to go on," said Anwar as he was wheeled away by prison officials after the hearing.

In a statement issued by his lawyers, Anwar said that the charges were trumped-up and part of a political conspiracy.

"So the withdrawal is nothing but a charade. They knew that had they proceeded with the five charges this would have afforded me another forum to expose the conspiracy," Anwar added in his statement.

Anwar has always maintained that the charges leveled at him were a result of a government conspiracy, a charge denied by the government.

No reason

The proceedings took approximately 10 minutes with Deputy Public Prosecutor Azhar Abdul Hamid telling Augustine that all charges were to be withdrawn.

The prosecution did not give any reason for the move.

The remaining corruption charge was in regard to Anwar's alleged involvement to stop an Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigation against his former private secretary Mohd Azmin Ali.

On the sodomy charges, Anwar was alleged to have sodomised his former speech writer Dr Munawar Ahmad Anees, his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, fashion designer Mior Abdul Razak Yahya and lecturer Hairany Mohd Naffis between December 1992 and May 1995.

Later outside the building, lead defence counsel Christopher Fernando told reporters that he "had a faint suspicion that the charges against Anwar would be withdrawn".

"He is completely innocent of the charges. We have always held that there was no basis for these charges. I think this was a responsible move because there is absolutely no evidence to convict Anwar.

"All the complainants, on whose confessions the sodomy charges were initiated, were tortured into making confessions against Anwar. Going on with the trial would have been an exercise in futility and an absolute waste of time. I think it is the right move," he added.

He also said that Munawar had submitted a 60-page affidavit claiming that he was tortured into making the confession against Anwar.

Sukma too had submitted an affidavit stating that he was forced to confess to have committed sodomy with Anwar.

Vindication

Azhar declined to comment to queries by malaysiakini on the reason for the charges to be dropped.

Anwar's wife and president of Keadilan Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, speaking to reporters, said she was glad the charges were withdrawn.

"We have always maintained our innocence. If the proceedings this morning had continued, this would have given Anwar a forum to expose the conspiracy and the manner witnesses have been harassed and intimidated into fabricating false evidence.

"The prosecution does not want to be embarrassed further by the five charges and this is a vindication that the charges were false," she said.

When asked if the withdrawal were politically motivated, Azizah said that the government would most probably want to show that it was being lenient.

"You must remember that Anwar has already been sentenced to 15 years jail for abuse of power and sodomy," she said.

The hearing was to have been heard two weeks ago but had to be postponed on the grounds that Anwar, who was then still admitted at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) for his slipped disc treatment, was unfit to attend.

Security was tight at the prison complex for the hearing, forcing Anwar's supporters to wait outside in the rain. Two police trucks, two Federal Reserve Unit trucks, a water cannon and an armoured personnel carrier were on standby as well.

Pardon Anwar

Meanwhile, in an immediate reaction, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said the withdrawal of the charges "does not materially alter the situation as Anwar is already undergoing a draconian 15-year jail term".

He said that the government should consider pardoning Anwar altogether in order to end the deep and bitter divisions in the country.

He said that by freeing Anwar and restoring his political and civil rights, Malaysians can put the past three years of political trauma, turmoil and turbulence behind them and move forward as one united and dynamic people to take on the challenges of the new era.