Malaysian sex trial evidence inadmissible

Malaysia’s High Court refused to let prosecutors use crucial evidence that might link opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to semen found on the man who accused Anwar of sodomising him.

The ruling could severely hamper the prosecution’s efforts to prove that Anwar had sex with his 25-year-old former aide.

Anwar faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of sodomy, a crime in the Muslim-majority country.

Anwar has maintained the charge is part of a government plot to discredit him, but authorities deny any conspiracy.

He has refused to provide his DNA samples, saying he fears investigators would tamper with the evidence.

Government lawyers sought to submit a toothbrush, towel and water bottle that Anwar used during police detention as evidence in the trial.

A chemist testified that DNA found on those items matched that of a semen sample found on Anwar’s accuser.

The High Court ruled today that authorities had illegally obtained the items when they arrested Anwar in July 2008.

Anwar had left them in a police cell and was not informed that they could be used against him.

The prosecution’s case now hinges mainly on testimony by the aide that Anwar pressured him into having sex at a Kuala Lumpur condominium in June 2008, said Anwar’s lawyer, Sankara Nair.

Prosecutors did not immediately comment, but Anwar’s defence team believed they had no other material evidence against Anwar.

“I am pleased with this decision,” Anwar said. “This (was) the use of trickery and deception.”

Anwar, a married 63-year-old with six children, was once deputy prime minister, but he lost his post in 1998 on charges of sodomising his family’s former driver and trying to cover up his actions.

He was released from prison in 2004 when a court overturned the sodomy conviction. He then led an opposition coalition to major gains in March 2008 general elections.