Dealing with political prisoners is easier in Afghanistan than it is in Malaysia, said prominent US lawyer Kimberley Motley.

Motley, the newest member of jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's legal team, said in Afghanistan she would never have been denied access to her client.

“Malaysia is a beautiful place. Other than the fact that I’ve been denied access to Anwar, the people here have been beautiful they’ve been very kind.

“(But) Shockingly Afghanistan was easier than this, which is saying something. I would have been able to see my client for starters,” Motley told Malaysiakini in an interview yesterday.

She added that political prisoners in Afghanistan are also sometimes given access to the media.

While the media here have been able to talk to Anwar, it is mostly done when journalists shout questions at him as he is being escorted in or out of court.

“In a lot of ways, what's happening in Afghanistan with their legal system is much better than how Anwar has been treated in the legal system here in Malaysia.

“I have had problems with (the Afghan) government, don’t get me wrong, but in terms of getting access to my client, that never was a problem in Afghanistan,”

This she said, made her involvement with Anwar’s case, among the “top five” most difficult starts to a case she has had to face.

Motley, a graduate from Marquette Law School in 2003, has practised in the US and Afghanistan.

Her work in Afghanistan, focuses on criminal and human rights cases, mostly taking on clients who have already been convicted.

She was appointed to be part of Anwar’s legal team last Wednesday, but upon arriving in Malaysia yesterday, was denied access to the PKR de facto leader.

Her attempt to seek an explanation from the Home Ministry was unsuccessful.

Motley had taken on the case after Anwar’s family got in touch with her.

Motley fully believes Anwar is innocent

And after having read almost all the court documents on his sodomy case, including all the court transcripts, she fully believes that Anwar is innocent.

“Just like how he got a black eye (in 1998), this (second sodomy conviction) is a black eye to Malaysia... it’s also a black eye to justice around the world, that’s what got me involved in this case.

“Under Islamic law, Correct me if I’m wrong, for (a sodomy charge) you need four eyewitnesses. There's no four witnesses in this, there’s barely one witness.

“It’s not following Malaysian law, it’s not following Islamic law, it’s following Mickey Mouse law, I don’t know what it is.”

The former Miss Wisconsin pageant queen has been practicing law for 13 years, and from the interview it was evident that her passion for law revolves around giving justice to those who have been denied it.

When asked why she had gone into law, Motley gave a rather interesting reply that mixed her love for law and music together.

“I always wanted to be a DJ, and I feel like for me the law is something that belongs to us, it’s a living thing.

“So it’s my job as a lawyer to use those laws, to take them to court and give the people something to dance to, use the law in a musical way,” she said.