[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 22 Aug 1999
Time: 11:26:54
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Malaysian Opposition Leader Cleared Full Coverage Malaysia Political News
By ALVIN UNG Associated Press Writer
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - An opposition leader accused of criticizing Malaysia's judicial system was cleared of contempt charges Saturday after the prosecution failed to prove he made the critical comments, which were published on the Internet.
High Court Judge Ariffin Jaka dismissed the contempt charge against Chandra Muzaffar. Chandra is the deputy president of the opposition National Justice Party and a close ally of ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
``There's no proof that the alleged statement which was downloaded from the Internet can be attributed to Chandra Muzaffar,'' the judge said in his ruling.
The charge against Chandra stemmed from Anwar's high-profile sex trial.
Anwar and his adopted brother, Sukma Dermawan, are being tried for allegedly sodomizing Anwar's former family driver. Anwar, who is currently serving a six-year jail term for corruption, says the charges are part of a political conspiracy to quash his challenge to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Ariffin is also the judge presiding over Anwar's sex trial.
Prosecutors said Chandra recently made remarks, via an Internet site, criticizing Ariffin's decision to allow a lurid confession by Sukma as evidence in the sex trial. Sukma said the confession, which detailed lurid homosexual acts with Anwar, was coerced by police during torture and detention.
Defense attorneys argued that the contempt action was flawed because prosecutors were relying on material from the Internet. Ariffin agreed.
Anwar's sex trial will resume next month.