Federal Court fixes Aug 8 for case management on Anwar's sodomy appeals

The Federal Court here today fixed Aug 8 for case management in three appeals in respect to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's conviction and five-year-jail sentence for sodomy.

The appeals are Anwar's appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision to convict him and sentence him to jail on a sodomy charge, Anwar's appeal on his third bid to recuse lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from appearing as lead deputy public prosecutor and the prosecution's cross-appeal for a higher jail sentence on Anwar.

Anwar, 67, had filed an appeal against a Court of Appeal decision on March 3 this year which dismissed his third application to disqualify Muhammad Shafee from appearing as the public prosecutor.

The matter came up before Federal Court deputy registrar Mohd Izzudin Mohamad today in chambers who subsequently fixed the new case management date.

Representing Anwar were lawyers Ram Karpal Singh, N.Surendran and Latheefa Koya while deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria appeared for the prosecution.

Meanwhile, Ram Karpal Singh said the next case management date was for the purpose of sorting out the three appeals.

Ram Karpal Singh also said that the defence had informed the registrar that certain issues were required to be ironed out before the hearing date of the appeal proper could be set.

Surendran, meanwhile, told the media that indications had been given that the court wanted to fix the hearing of the appeal proper in September.

"There shouldn't be unusual and unnecesary hurrying to hear the appeal," he said.

On March 7, this year, the Court of Appeal here overturned the Jan 9, 2012 High Court decision in acquitting Anwar on a charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan 26, at a unit of the Desa Damansara condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

The three-member Court of Appeal panel chaired by Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi sentenced Anwar to five years jail but granted him a stay on the jail sentence pending his appeal to the Federal Court.

Anwar was also allowed bail of RM10,000 in one surety.