SODOMY II: The Trial of Anwar Ibrahim

Book excerpt: On 9 January 2012, Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of charges of sodomy against his then 23-year-old aide, Mohd Saiful. Anwar’s trial lasted almost two years with many delays and appeals to the superior courts. The weeks before High Court Judge Mohd Diah Zabidin delivered his verdict were full of expectation and speculation. Most observers and lawyers — even Anwar himself — were convinced that he would be found guilty of sodomy. This book recounts the events of the trial, as reported by eminent QC Mark Trowell who observed the trial on behalf of LAWASIA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the International Commission of Jurists, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and Union Internationale des Advocats from January 2010 until its conclusion two years later.