Suit against Malaysia’s Anwar halted: Is sexual assault case against a PM a matter of constitution or law?

A Malaysian Court of Appeal has accepted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s request to completely pause a sexual assault case against him.

In 2021, Yusoff Rawther, a former research aide to Ibrahim, accused him of sexual assault in 2018.

Separately, Ibrahim is appealing a lower court’s ruling that sought clarity whether a prime minister had immunity for his pre-office and post-office granted him exception from prosecution.

Previously, Ibrahim was convicted of sodomy in 2000 and 2014. In the first case, he was acquitted by a higher court. In the second case, he received a pardon from the new government.

In the current case, Ibrahim has denied any wrongdoing.

Anwar Ibrahim’s two sodomy convictions

This is at least the third time that Ibrahim has faced serious charges. He has previously been convicted of corruption and sexual assault.

In 1998, Ibrahim was accused of corruption and sodomy. He was the deputy prime minister at the time. He was fired from the government over allegations.

More from World

Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 jolts Assam, tremors felt in Bhutan and north Bengal 5 US F-35 jets land in Puerto Rico amid tensions with Venezuela

Homosexuality remains criminalised in Malaysia. Those in same-sex relationships are often prosecuted under sodomy charges.

In 1999, Ibrahim was convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years. In 2000, he was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to nine years.

In 2004, the Federal Court overturned the sodomy conviction.

In 2008, Ibrahim was charged with sodomy. Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a former aide, had alleged that Ibrahim sodomised in a house in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.

In case full of turns and twists, Ibrahim was acquitted in 2012, but an appeals court overturned the acquittal and sentenced him to five years in 2014. He was pardoned and released in 2018 after a change of the government.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

There has been widespread belief that these cases against Ibrahim were politically-motivated and did not have substance.

What we know of the current case?

The complainant in the current case, Yusoff Rawther, filed his case in 2021 and accused Ibrahim of sexually assaulting him in October 2018 while they were in Ibrahim’s residence in Kuala Lumpur.

Yusoff has sought special, general, aggravated, and exemplary damages un the case.