Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (Photo: AFP)
Defence lawyers for Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, 64, made a last ditch effort Monday to discredit his accuser in the closing arguments of his long-running sodomy trial.
He has denied the charge, saying Prime Minister Najib Razak and other top officials conspired against him to end his political career and the opposition's chances in upcoming general elections.
Defence lawyer Sankara Nair told AFP that a verdict could be expected within a month after the prosecution wraps up with its closing arguments Tuesday.
A guilty verdict would effectively bar Anwar from standing in the next polls, he said.
"The evidence adduced by the defence has demolished all semblance of truth in the evidence (of Anwar's accuser)," Karpal Singh, another defence lawyer, told the court.
"It is preposterous to believe the evidence of (accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan)," he added.
Karpal said Saiful had coffee and curry puffs after the alleged crime took place, which "substantially damaged" Saiful's credibility. Saiful had testified that Anwar forced him though the charge is of consensual sex.
The defence rested its case in October after calling its last witness.
The trial marks the second time that Anwar stands accused of sodomy over the past decade. In 1998, Anwar, then deputy prime minister, had a falling-out with then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar was subsequently arrested and convicted of sodomy and corruption and jailed, but the sodomy conviction was eventually overturned. Anwar has denied all charges as politically motivated.
After his release from prison in 2004, Anwar led an opposition alliance to make historic inroads against the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in 2008 polls.
The new sodomy accusation emerged months later.
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