Malaysia's Anwar seeks to block sodomy charge

Kuala Lumpur: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has asked a Malaysian court to throw out a sodomy charge against him, two weeks before the start of a trial he maintains is politically motivated, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The government has repeatedly denied Anwar's claim that the charge was orchestrated to block him from leading a three-party opposition alliance that severely eroded the ruling coalition's parliamentary majority in the March 2008 election.

Anwar submitted a petition to the High Court on Wednesday that said the case was a conspiracy concocted by his foes in the government, Anwar's lawyer, Sankara Nair, said in a statement.

The charge "is a travesty, a complete farce and has absolutely no basis whatsoever, as there is no case against our client," Nair said.

Anwar, 61, was charged last August with allegedly sodomizing a 23-year-old male former aide. The trial is due to begin July 1. Anwar faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of sodomy, a crime in this Muslim-majority country.

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, spent six years in prison after being convicted of corruption and an earlier sodomy charge, following his ouster from the Cabinet in 1998.