Anwar's Sodomy Accuser Says He Was Raped
KUALA LUMPUR: A young Muslim man who has accused Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy claimed Friday (15 Aug) that he was raped by him, and swore on the Quran that he is telling the truth.
In his first public comments since filing a police complaint against Anwar in June, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, told reporters he was not a consenting partner in the alleged crime. According to charges filed by police, Anwar is alleged to have had consensual sex with Saiful.
"I would like to emphasize that it happened by force, without my consent. This was the first time I was sodomized," Saiful said, adding that he was not involved romantically with Anwar, 61.
Anwar has vehemently denied the accusation of sodomy, dismissing it as a political plot to stop the resurgent opposition from toppling the government. Saiful's statement came as Anwar prepared to file nomination papers on Saturday for a by-election he will contest on 26 Aug in a bid to re-enter Parliament.
Sodomy, either consensual or forced, is punishable by up to 20 years in jail in Malaysia. Police have not charged Saiful, saying he is a key witness to an alleged crime and cannot be prosecuted.
The unexpected claim adds a new twist to the political drama that has transfixed Malaysians with its sordid implications. Anwar was similarly accused of sodomy in 1998 when he was deputy prime minister in the Cabinet of his political rival, Mahathir Mohamad. He was convicted of sodomy in 1999 but exonerated by the Supreme Court in 2004.
Saiful said he went to a mosque earlier Friday and swore on the Quran that he was telling the truth. He also played a video showing him kneeling on the floor of a mosque while holding a copy of the Quran.
"This is the way to get justice in this world and in the afterworld. I swear in God's name that I was sodomized by my employer," he said, referring to Anwar, in whose office he worked as an aide until he went to the police.
Saiful said the timing of his statement was not politically motivated.
"It is just by coincidence that I made the oath today. Today is Friday, God gave me the strength today ... it has nothing to do with the nomination tomorrow."
Government-controlled state television channels broadcast the video in which Saiful is heard saying he will be cursed by Allah if he is lying. The oath carries no legal weight.
He told reporters he doesn't know why police charged Anwar with consensual sodomy when there is a law against forced sodomy as well.
Anwar's lawyers said Saiful's accusations are false.
"As far as we are concerned his story is a fabrication. That's what we said from day one," said Sivarasa Rasiah, one of his lawyers.
He also dismissed Saiful's challenge to Anwar to take a similar oath on the Quran, saying it is a "non-issue." (By JULIA ZAPPEI/ AP)
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