Anwar gets bail after being grilled for hours in sodomy case

Jaishree Balasubramanian
Kuala Lumpur, July 17 (PTI) Malaysian opposition
leader Anwar Ibrahim was Thursday released on bail after hours
of interrogation and staying overnight in police lock-up in a
sodomy case.
No charges had been levelled against the 60-year-old
former deputy prime minister, who was sacked and jailed a
decade ago in a similar case which was quashed in 2004,
Anwar's lawyers told reporters.
Anwar was arrested near his home Wednesday an hour
before a deadline set by police for him to appear voluntarily
for questioning in connection with a complaint filed by a
former aide on June 28 accusing him sodomy.
The People's Justice Party was driven off from the
back exit of the police headquarters accompanied by his wife
and daughters as a hoard of journalists waited outside.
Police recorded Anwar's statement in connection with a
sodomy allegation, his lawyer Sankara Nair said.
Nair said Anwar, who was once a part of the powerful
ruling coalition and led an opposition upsurge in March polls,
had been asked to report to the city police on August 18.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar said
Anwar was arrested as he was "a suspect" and the action was
taken in "accordance with law".
Ibrahim was taken to a hospital here after his
arrest and was believed to have undergone medical examination
in connection with the case.
His lawyers, however, said Anwar had refused to give
DNA sample as he feared that it would be used to fabricate
evidence.
Ismail, meanwhile, stressed every procedure was
followed, including allowing Anwar to meet his wife at about
midnight, the Star daily reported.
Anwar's former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23,
had lodged a police report that the former deputy prime
minister had sodomised him. Anwar has filed a suit against
Mohamad Saiful accusing him of fabricating the incident which
allegedly occurred on June 26.
Another of Anwar's lawyers, R. Sivarasa, said the
opposition leader was held in the lock-up throughout the night
except for when his statement was recorded, state-run news
agency Bernama said.
Police continued to record Anwar's statement this
morning, the agency said.
Anwar's three-party People's Alliance coalition won a
record 82 seats in the 222 member parliament in the March 8
elections. The alliance is just 30 short of a simple majority
which Anwar had said it could attain by mid September.
However, the latest sodomy allegations could derail
the process.
The U.S., meanwhile, expressed serious concern over
Anwar's arrest arrest
"We urge Malaysian authorities to resolve this matter
in a manner that builds confidence in the impartial rule of
law in Malaysia," State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack said in a statement.
Ten years ago Anwar faced sodomy and graft charges and
was fired as deputy prime minister and finance minister by
then prime minister Mahatir Mohammed.
Malaysia's Supreme Court later overturned the
conviction, but by then Anwar had served six years in prison.