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KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was released on bail Thursday after pleading not guilty to sodomy charges, ahead of a by-election expected to return him to parliament this month.
"This is a slander, it is a malicious allegation and I am not guilty," Anwar said from the dock after being accused of sodomising 23-year-old aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26.
Anwar, a former deputy premier who was jailed a decade ago on similar charges that were later overturned, has said the new allegations have been concocted by the government to prevent him from seizing power.
Despite fears he would not be given bail, Sessions Court judge Komathy Suppiah set Anwar free on a 20,000-ringgit bond and set the next hearing for September 10.
"A man is innocent until proven guilty. I don't think there's any likelihood that Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim will abscond," she said, using his honorific title.
Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is illegal in this conservative and predominantly Muslim nation. It carries a penalty of 20 years' imprisonment.
The charges indicated the alleged sex act was consensual. Mohamad Saiful, who was a volunteer in Anwar's office, has reportedly said it took place at an upscale Kuala Lumpur apartment.
Although Mohamad Saiful appeared to be equally culpable under the law, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said he would not be charged because he had lodged the complaint.
"You have to make a choice. Do we charge the person who lodged a police report claiming that the act had taken place?" he said, according to the state Bernama news agency.
Anwar welcomed the court's decision to grant him bail, which allows him to campaign for the August 26 by-election, and said the prosecution had been ill-prepared.
"You can see how haphazard this has been. I am pleased with the decision and will proceed with my campaign," he said.
His wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who vacated her parliamentary seat in northern Penang state to make way for Anwar, condemned the charges as "politically motivated" and said her husband was innocent.
"It's a big relief that bail has been given. Anwar's health is not too good," she told reporters.
Security was tight outside the packed courtroom, which was guarded by about 200 police -- mostly riot squad officers. About 400 pro-Anwar supporters massed peacefully outside.
In anticipation of protests, major roads leading into the capital Kuala Lumpur were locked down with roadblocks, causing major traffic jams.
The timing of the allegations, after Anwar announced he would oust the government with the help of defectors in the wake of elections that handed the opposition a third of parliamentary seats, has raised fears of a conspiracy.
"The Malaysian government appears to be manipulating the legal system to shore up support for its continued rule and undermine the opposition," Human Rights Watch's Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement.
"This case is really about preventing challenges to the government's rule," he said of the coalition, which has ruled since independence from Britain half a century ago.
In comments certain to infuriate the government, the United States said it was "paying close attention" to the case and called for a fair and transparent legal process.
Malaysia accused the country of meddling in its internal affairs when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month raised concerns over the investigation into the claims against Anwar.
"It is our hope that the rule of law will be applied fairly and transparently, given the flawed nature of the process that led to Anwar's past sodomy conviction," the US embassy said in a statement.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday denied Anwar's claims that the government had engineered the allegations.
"There's no conspiracy," he said, according to The New Straits Times daily.
"How could I insist that he be charged? The police are not so stupid to simply charge if there is no evidence."
Anwar's allies in the opposition alliance urged the government to drop the prosecution, which they said would harm Malaysia's standing abroad.
"It is totally against Malaysia's interests and international reputation -- the country is in the dock, it is not just Anwar on trial," said Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party.
- AFP/yb/ir
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