Sodomy trial of Malaysia's Anwar set to start

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim braced for the start of his long-delayed sodomy trial, which he has called a conspiracy aimed at breaking the momentum of his political movement.

Anwar's lawyers have exhausted efforts to put the proceedings on hold because of unresolved technicalities, including their requests for advance access to the prosecution's medical evidence in the case.

The High Court was scheduled to begin hearing Anwar's trial on accusations of sodomising a male former aide, 18 months after he was charged for the second time in his political career for the crime punishable by 20 years' imprisonment in this Muslim-majority country.

Anwar is accused of sodomising a former election campaign worker and aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 24.

Anwar, 62, insists the current charge was fabricated by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government foes to knock out Anwar's opposition movement, which severely eroded the ruling coalition's grip on power in March 2008 general elections.

Najib has denied conspiring against Anwar. Hearings for the sodomy trial have been repeatedly postponed since August 2008 as Anwar's lawyers sought to have the charge dropped, claiming there was no medical evidence of sodomy to warrant a trial, and demanded that the prosecution show its evidence to the defence in advance.

Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah refused to grant further adjournments, saying the prosecution can deliver its opening statements and start calling witnesses.

Anwar's lawyers met the president of the Court of Appeals to ask him to overrule the order and to schedule dates for further appeals on the defence's pretrial petitions.

However, they were instructed to proceed with the High Court hearings first, said Anwar's attorney, Karpal Singh.

"We want a fair trial," Singh said, adding that Anwar should be "given every opportunity" to obtain material for his defence.

Anwar was previously charged in 1998 and convicted of sodomising his family driver, but Malaysia's top court overturned the conviction in 2004. Anwar, who was deputy prime minister in the 1990s, had maintained his innocence, insisting he was framed to prevent him from challenging then-leader Mahathir Mohamad.

A prison sentence of at least one year would bar Anwar from politics for five years from the date of his release. That would be a huge setback to his three-party People's Alliance, the only rival to Najib's National Front coalition, which has been in power since 1957.