Anwar denies sodomising Mohd Saiful

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denied he had sodomised his former personal aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan six years ago.

This was stated in Anwar's defence statement which was submitted to the High Court here today.

The media obtained a copy of the defence statement from lawyer Shahid Adli Kamarudin, who represented Anwar when the case came up before Judicial Commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan in chambers today.

Mohd Saiful was represented by lawyer Zamri Idrus. Anwar said the claim that he had sodomised Mohd Saiful was not true and that on June 26, 2008, the day the incident was alleged to take place, he had asked for an envelope to be sent to him in Damansara where he was attending a meeting.

The envelope was sent by Mohd Saiful because he (Mohd Saiful) was the only one at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat's office then, he added.

The Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament claimed that the police report lodged by Mohd Saiful on June 28, 2008, on the alleged sodomy was made with malicious intent and with a hidden agenda to tarnish his image and destroy his political career.

Meanwhile, Zamri told reporters that the court had fixed Nov 18 for case management.

On June 23 this year, Mohd Saiful filed a suit against Anwar, seeking RM50 million in damages for sodomising him six years ago and then injuring his reputation.

In the statement of claim, Mohd Saiful said he never lied about the police report against Anwar for sodomising him and claimed that the last time it happened was on Jun 26, 2008 at Unit 1151, Kondominium Desa Damansara, Jalan Setia Kasih here.

Mohd Saiful claimed that he had been brought to public odium and ridicule for what Anwar did to him and also for claiming that his (Mohd Saiful) police report on the sodomy was false and a conspiracy against him (Anwar).