*EPF403 09/02/2004
U.S. Welcomes Decision to Release Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim
(State Dept. calls court decision "victory for rule of law") (190)

The U.S. Department of State issued a statement September 2 welcoming the Malaysian Federal Court's decision to release former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In September 1998, then-Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia dismissed Anwar, accusing him of immoral and corrupt conduct. Later that month, Anwar was arrested, beaten while in prison, and charged with corruption and sodomy. In April 1999, he was convicted of four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. In August 2000, Anwar was convicted of one count of sodomy and sentenced to nine years to run consecutively after his earlier six-year sentence.

"Both trials were viewed by domestic and international observers as politically motivated," according to the State Department's Background Notes on Malaysia (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2777.htm).

Anwar's release is "a victory for the rule of law and the judicial process in Malaysia," the Department of State said.

The statement also expressed the hope that the medical treatment Anwar is planning to undergo will restore his health.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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