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Clinton talks see Malaysia pledge fair trial for Anwar

By Lachlan Carmichael (AFP) – 8 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia pledged Tuesday after talks with visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will get a fair trial on sodomy charges.
Clinton is in Malaysia to cultivate stronger ties with the moderate Muslim-majority nation, but nevertheless renewed US calls for the politically explosive charges to be handled "fairly and transparently".
Speaking at a joint press conference after discussing the case with Clinton, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman denied Anwar's claim that the charges are a conspiracy aimed at neutralising the threat he poses to the ruling coalition.
"It is in my interest and our interests to make sure Anwar gets a fair trial because if there is such a thing as political persecution, if it can happen to Anwar, it can happen to all of us," Anifah said.
"Being an open trial I think the world will be able to judge the outcome," he said of the charges that could see Anwar jailed for up to 20 years.
Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and jailed a decade ago on separate sex and corruption counts widely seen as politically motivated, says he is the victim of another plot after stunning 2008 electoral gains.
On a visit to Washington in June, he welcomed the attention being paid to Malaysia by President Barack Obama but said the US needed to be careful not to be "condoning the excesses" of Prime Minister Najib Razak's government.
Anwar had been expected to meet Clinton during her visit, but US officials said Tuesday that there were no plans for talks.
However, Clinton noted that the US "believes it is important for all aspects of the case to be conducted fairly and transparently and in a way that increases confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia."
Anwar spent six years in jail on the original sodomy and corruption allegations until the sex conviction was quashed in 2004. Sodomy, even among consenting adults, is illegal in Malaysia.
His new trial, on allegations of illicit relations with a young male aide, opened in February but has been punctuated by lengthy delays and has made little progress.

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