Sodomy trial adjourned to tomorrow.........

The Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial was adjourned to tomorrow after lead defence counsel Karpal Singh applied to disqualify presiding High Court judge Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah, citing dissatisfaction with the way the court has dealt with Utusan Malaysia’s coverage of the case.

Karpal made the application at the start of Day 4 of the trial in which the 62-year-old Opposition Leader is accused of sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Desa Damansara Condominium on June 26, 2008. Anwar has denied the charge, the second time in 12 years he has faced similar charges.

In filing his application, Karpal said it was based on dissatisfaction over how the judge deal with the Utusan Malaysia coverage which “brings to surface an element of danger on the part of the learned trial judge.”

According to the affidavit, Utusan had on February 4 published on its front page an article under the heading “Tak rela diliwat lagi” with the photograph of Anwar and Saiful on either side. On page 3 of, the newspaper also wrote “Berhenti kerana tidak mahu diliwat lagi.”

On the next day, Utusan also carried a photograph captioned “Mohd Saiful menunjukkan katil di bilik tidur utama tempat beliau mendakwa diliwat Anwar Ibrahim kepada Hakim Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah ketika melawat kondominium tempat kesalahan itu dilakukan...” (Mohd Saiful shows the judge the bed in the master bedroom where he was alleged to have been sodomised by Anwar.”

Karpal had applied to court to cite Utusan for contempt of court as he argued that what was published on Feb 4 was tantamount to contempt of court.However, Zabidin had dismissed Karpal’s application on the grounds that “the said reports were not carried with the intention of being mischievious and to disrupt trial proceedings when clearly there was no evidence on affidavit or otherwise to show such intention or mischief by Utusan Malaysia.”

Similarly the judge had with regards to the Feb 5 coverage by Utusan declined to caution the newspaper despite the defence’s contention that the news report was misleading. Zabidin’s basis of reasoning was that the publication of the picture as evidence regarding the bed had been given in open court the previous day, which Karpal argues did not actually occur.

source:malaysian insider

Perbicaraan kes liwat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur yang masuk hari keempat hari ini ditangguhkan ke pagi esok ekoran permohonan peguamnya, Karpal Singh supaya Hakim Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Md Diah yang mendengar kes itu dilucutkan.

Ini kerana pihak peguam tidak berpuas hati dengan cara hakim mengendalikan permohonan mereka terhadap bantahan berhubung liputan Utusan Malaysia supaya diambil tindakan menghina mahkamah.

Pada 4 Februari lalu, Anwar mengecam laporan akhbar berkenaan pada hari itu yang disifatkan sebagai kotor, biadab dan jijik.

Menurutnya, laporan Utusan muka depan hari ini bertajuk "Tak rela diliwat lagi" sebagai memetik kenyataan Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan adalah cubaan fitnah kerana tiada dalam rekod mahkamah sepanjang perbicaraan semalam.

Karpal pula memohon mahkamah mengenakan perintah menghina mahkamah terhadap akhbar tersebut.

Katanya, laporan itu dibuat dengan niat jahat kerana apa yang tiada dalam prosiding perbicaraan kes liwat itu dilaporkan dalam artikel berkenaan.(Harakahdaily).

Rata-rata tahu bahawa akhbar Utusan ini memang anti pembangkang dan laporan-laporannya memang berat sebelah. Ianya sesuai untuk digunakan untuk lap juboq Saiful saja........

cheers.