Malaysian court rules against Anwar lawyer

September 5, 2000
Web posted at: 7:35 PM HKT (1135 GMT)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) -- A Malaysian court on Tuesday threw out an appeal by one of Anwar Ibrahim's lawyers against a jail sentence for contempt of court, a lawyer said.

Zainur Zakaria was sentenced to three months in prison by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in November 1998 when he refused to apologize to the judge in the ex-finance minister's corruption trial for seeking the dismissal of two prosecutors in the case.

Judge Augustine Paul had ordered Zainur to retract the affidavit filed by Anwar and to apologize for it, saying it amounted to serious contempt. Zainur had refused.

Zainur's lawyer S. N. Nair said the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling against his client, who now planned to appeal to the Federal Court, the nation's highest court.

Zainur was freed on bail pending his appeal to the Federal Court, Nair said.

At the 1998 trial, Zainur filed an affidavit on Anwar's behalf saying two prosecutors offered to reduce charges against a businessman friend of the former deputy prime minister if the man agreed to frame Anwar with sex crimes.

Anwar, once in line to succeed Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, is serving long jail sentences following his conviction on sodomy and corruption charges he says were fabricated. He has accused the government of a conspiracy, which it denies.

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