Anwar freed in surprise court verdict (Clinton tried to get him released!)

[Khephra]

THIS IS GREAT NEWS! DO A FEW GOOGLE SEARCHES ON THIS CASE. IT WAS A FIXED, POLITICAL TRIAL! Check out this site for more info:

http://www.freeanwar.net/index.htm

PS. There's also an Iraqi with the same name. Don't confuse the two if you do searches.

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Anwar freed in surprise court verdict

Former Malaysian deputy PM's sodomy conviction is overturned. Released after six years, he vows to press for reform

By Reme Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR - Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim stepped into his home yesterday for the first time in nearly six years - freed by Malaysia's highest court in a watershed decision that set aside his conviction in August 2000 for sodomy.

Yesterday was exactly six years to the day he was sacked from his post as deputy prime minister, precipitating the country's worst political crisis.

'I thank God I am free, not only free but vindicated by a court of law, although six years is a long time,' said Datuk Seri Anwar, who turned 57 last month. He immediately vowed to continue his drive for political reform.

When asked about the man responsible for his rise and fall, retired prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Mr Anwar said: 'I bear no malice against him. Let him retire. I feel vindicated. This is all about justice.'


http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,270648,00.html

[Khephra]

1. Here's some good background that will catch you up quickly

Chronology of the Case Against Anwar Ibrahim

by the Human Rights Watch


November, 1998

A power struggle between Prime Minister Mahathir and his deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had been building for several years, but it intensified as the economic crisis worsened. Anwar increasingly took a pro-free market approach sympathetic to foreign investment and trade liberalization, while Mahathir advocated currency controls and blamed the West and Western currency speculators in particular for his country's economic plight. By mid-year, borrowing the reform slogans from neighboring Indonesia, Anwar's supporters within the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party were making corruption and nepotism major political issues, with Mahathir and his associates the unstated target.

In May, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM (50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister), a book containing graphic sexual allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar, was published in Kuala Lumpur. In early June, the book was circulated at the annual meeting of UMNO. It was during that meeting that Mahathir apparently began strengthening his control over the party and making moves against Anwar. Days later, Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a defamation complaint against the author.

In July, a visit by the Indonesian opposition leader Amien Rais led to more pointed comparisons of Malaysia and Indonesia. Domestic critics accused Mahathir of tolerating cronyism, and the international financial press and the IMF demanded greater transparency in government and UMNO-managed enterprises.

In August, police charged the author of the 50 Reasons book with malicious publishing of false news. But in September, the judge who had banned the book's distribution--a pro-Anwar decision--was transferred, raising concerns among Malaysian lawyers about a judiciary whose independence was already problematic. Key events in the still unfolding crisis are as follows:

http://www.freeanwar.net/news/chronology.html

[Khephra]

2. Here's what Anwar has said recently

President Bush Unleashed "Slaughter and Humiliation" in Iraq, According to Malaysia's Most Famous Convict, Anwar Ibrahim
April 11, 2003

by Richard S. Ehrlich


snip.......

America's "moral high ground is crumbling," Mr. Anwar warned, "and the sympathy and goodwill gained after the September 11 tragedy are dissolving because of Washington's blatant disregard of world opinion and international law in waging war against Iraq.

"Surely, in casting aside diplomacy and choosing destruction, slaughter and humiliation in order to 'liberate the Iraqi people' and 'rid the world of weapons of mass destruction,' the Bush administration should have expected the visceral international anger it is now facing."

Mr. Anwar was Malaysia's deputy prime minister until 1998 when he was fired, arrested and put on trial for sodomy and corruption -- charges he tried in vain to deny.

Tens of thousands of Malaysians protested in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the capital, battling riot police in bloody clashes that paralyzed the country.

Then-President Bill Clinton's administration expressed dismay that human rights were being trampled in the Southeast Asian nation which has a 56 percent Muslim population.



more...........

http://www.geocities.com/glossograph/malaysia0304anwariraqepn.html