FAC News - Saturday, March 15, 2003 7:19 AM

Judicial Review of 18 March will prove conspiracy:

Anwar files fresh evidence on 14 March

At 3.00pm today, a 30-day countdown leading to 14 April 2003 will be launched at the National Justice Party (keADILan) information centre in Section 13, Shah Alam, Selangor. 14 April is the date Anwar Ibrahim will have completed his six-year sentence on four counts of corruption after taking into consideration a one-third remission.

On Tuesday, 18 March 2003, Anwar’s application for a judicial review on his first (corruption) trial will be heard in the Federal Court. By then, Anwar will have less than a month to go to serve his sentence and, if the court does rule that the first trial was a mistrial - and either acquits him or orders a mistrial - he would just have over a fortnight left on his sentence.

But they still will not let him go home. A couple of days ago, the Prison Authorities said, though Anwar would have completed his first sentence on 14 April, he still has to serve another six years of his (second) nine-year sentence for sodomy; so he will only be home on 14 April 2009.

Now, that is both good news and bad news. The good news is; the government has confirmed that Anwar has been granted a one-third remission, not only for the six-year sentence he is currently serving, but for the next nine-year sentence as well.

The bad news is; they have already decided Anwar is going to lose his judicial review on 18 March and his appeal on 24 March even before convening the hearings, plus that Anwar’s application for bail will be denied even before the application could be made.

And who says there is a long delay of court cases in Malaysia? In Anwar’s cases, they have written the judgment even before the trial. If this is not fast, then I don’t know what is. I suppose we have very little grounds to complain about delays after this.

But never mind that the courts have already decided its verdicts beforehand. This is to be expected. We know they will make a political, and not legal, decision on 18 March and 24 March. What is going to be interesting is what will be revealed in these two hearings.

And what will be revealed is that Anwar is, beyond doubt, a victim of a frame-up.

At noon, yesterday, Anwar Ibrahim filed an Affidavit offering fresh evidence that the Public Prosecutors and Attorney-General had attempted to fabricate evidence against him. Whether, with this evidence, the Federal Court will now pronounce a mistrial is not known (probably not), but it will certainly erase any doubts anyone may be having that Anwar is indeed a victim of a conspiracy.

The evidence Anwar filed yesterday - in relation to a meeting that took place between a lawyer, Manjeet Singh Dhillon, his (Manjeet’s) lawyer, Jagjeet Singh, former attorney-general, Mohtar Abdullah, and Public Prosecutors Abdul Gani Patail and Azahar Mohamad - confirms he is a victim of a frame-up.

This was whole episode was highlighted in a letter Manjeet wrote to the Chief Justice on 17 February 2003.

“During the trial there were very serious allegations made that the AG Chambers officials were involved in the fabrication of evidence against Anwar,” Manjeet related in his letter to the Chief Justice.

“The issue stemmed from Gani Patail’s attempts to extort evidence from Nallakarupan (against Anwar) by mala fide use of the AG’s prosecution powers and the threat of a death sentence.”

“These allegations featured in an application before Augustine Paul in which Anwar’s lawyers attempted to disqualify members of the prosecution team for unprofessional conduct.”

“Arising from that application, Augustine Paul issued warrants of arrest against Zainur Zakaria and me.”

In Anwar’s Affidavit, he added that:

“Manjeet Singh Dhillon was requested by Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah to see him before proceedings for the proposed contempt proceedings against himself and Zainur Zakaria began that morning.”

“They met in the anteroom of the court house in the presence of Datuk Abdul Gani Patail, Datuk Azhar Mohamad and Jagjeet Singh.”

“Upon seeing Manjeet, Mohtar went up and hugged him and turned around and told Gani and Azahar that Manjeet was an altruist and apologised to Manjeet for not having done anything on Manjeet’s letter in which he had leveled accusations against Gani.”

“Mohtar added that he had not as yet taken this matter up with his officers.”

“Manjeet responded by reminding Mohtar that he had made a serious allegation against his officers and had written to him expecting something to be done but that nothing had been done.”

(The letter which Manjeet was referring to was the official complaint he made against Abdul Gani and Azahar who had attempted to extort fabricated evidence from S. Nallakaruppan - to be used against Anwar - in exchange for Nallakaruppan’s life).

“Mohtar did not deny or refute Manjeet’s allegations against his officers while both Gani and Azahar remained silent,” added Anwar in his Affidavit.

“This silence tantamount to an admission,” said Sankara Nair, another of Anwar’s lawyers, during a press conference yesterday.

This evidence, which was brought up during Anwar’s trial, was crucial and relevant to Anwar’s case yet the judge, Augustine Paul, chose to dismiss the application to disqualify Abdul Gani and Azahar by concluding that there was nothing to show that the two prosecutors had asked Nallakaruppan to provide false evidence.

During the trial, however, it was revealed that Abdul Gani and Azahar had offered to reduce a firearms charge against Manjeet's client, Nallakaruppan, in exchange for his false testimony that Anwar was involved in sexual improprieties.

(S. Nallakaruppan was Anwar’s tennis partner and was facing the death penalty under the Internal Security Act for unlawful possession of ammunition. The charge was amended to a reduced one under the Arms Act, which carries a maximum seven-year sentence. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years jail, but was released when he won his appeal in August 1999).

Anwar, in his Affidavit, contended that Augustine Paul was wrong in rejecting the application and for citing the two lawyers for contempt when it was beyond dispute that Abdul Gani and Azahar were involved in a conspiracy to fabricate evidence against him.

(On Monday, 17 March 2003, we will insert the full text of Anwar’s Affidavit, so please come back to this site).