Al Gore speaks up for Anwar again after Sodomy II conviction
Former US vice-president Al Gore has once more rallied to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s defence, accusing Putrajaya of influencing judges to reverse the Malaysian opposition leader’s sodomy acquittal in a move to kill the latter’s political career.
Gore, who had 15 years ago made a similar claim when Anwar was first charged with sodomy, linked the latest court ruling to the March 23 Kajang by-election.
The American emphatically said the PKR adviser would have easily won and provided him “serious leverage” to push for reform in Malaysia were he not preempted from running by the Court of Appeal’s five-year jail conviction.
“It is extremely disturbing that the government of Malaysia—by continuing to press this case beyond the bounds of reason, let alone the bounds of justice - has used the courts to short-circuit the political process,” Gore said in a statement published earlier this week on his website, Al’s Journal.
“The court, by accelerating its calendar, reached its verdict in a rush - early enough to prevent Anwar from running in the election. The calendar of events is itself a contextual indictment of the decision,” he added.
Gore, who was US vice-president from January 1993 to January 2001, has long been critical of the Malaysian government, particularly over its treatment of Anwar in the courts.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/al-gore-speaks-up-for-anwar-again-after-sodomy-ii-conviction
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