Munawar appeal: Federal Court judgment on Thursday

updated 5.15pm The Federal Court - the country's highest court - has set Thursday to deliver its judgment on Munawar A Anees’ appeal against his

MCPX

sodomy conviction.

In submissions before a three-member panel of judges this morning, his lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon called on the court to hear Munawar's appeal.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court threw out the case four years ago after Munawar, who is now living in United States, did not attend the hearing.

At the end of today's hearing, Chief Justice Zaki Azmi and Federal Court judges Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Nik Hashim Nik Abdul Rahman said they needed time to consider their decision.

Manjeet, when contacted, said a 14-page submission had been submitted, arguing that Munawar had been denied justice when the High Court dismissed his appeal without giving reasons.

“My client was never presented the chance or allowed to present his case and therefore he has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

“He should be given the chance to present his case based on the merits of his case,” Manjeet said in a phone interview.

Sentence Served

Munawar, a Pakistani-American writer who is a biologist by training and an internationally well-respected Islamic intellectual, was detained under the Internal Security Act on Sept 14, 1998.

The former aide and speech writer of ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was later charged alongside Anwar’s adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja.

They were convicted after pleading guilty to “allowing themselves to be sodomised” by Anwar.

They were charged with committing the offences at Anwar's residences in 1993 and 1998 but no specific dates or time were given. They were each sentenced to six months’ jail.

However, in a statutory declaration issued 10 years ago, Munawar claimed that he had been forced to confess following brutal torture while he was in detention.In the statutory declaration, he claimed that Special Branch officers had abused him mentally and physically.

After serving his sentence, he left for the United States where he currently works as a project management consultant with the US-based John Templeton Foundation.