A Malaysian court on Wednesday rejected opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's bid to close down his sodomy trial on the grounds of medical reports the defence says prove his innocence.

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was jailed on similar charges a decade ago, has made a number of legal manoeuvres to try to quash the allegations of illicit sex with former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
 

The defence had argued that medical reports on Mohamad Saiful, who has accused Anwar of sodomising him at an upmarket Kuala Lumpur apartment, showed that penetration had not take place.
 

The appeals court dismissed the latest bid, saying that medical reports were not the only evidence in the trial, which began earlier this month, and that other witness and forensic evidence would also be heard.
 

"So what else is new," said Anwar after the latest in a series of court decisions against him, including on bids to obtain access to evidence such as closed-circuit television footage.

Process difficult
"The process is going to be difficult because when you have a case where the prime minister and his powerful wife [...] are involved it is very difficult to expect courageous judges to exercise their right according to the law."
 

"Notwithstanding we will soldier on," said Anwar, who has accused premier Najib Razak of conspiring against him to end his political career - allegations the prime minister denies.
 

The court also rejected a defence application to temporarily halt the trial while Anwar's lawyers lodge an appeal with the nation's highest court, and ordered the hearings to resume on Thursday.
 

Earlier Wednesday, some 300 demonstrators massed outside the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to protest against criticism from Australian lawmakers who last week called for Anwar's trial to be dropped.

Australians critiqued
The protesters, led by the influential youth wing of the ruling party UMNO, yelled slogans and carried banners calling on Australia to "Mind your own business" during the peaceful rally, which lasted less than an hour.
 

The Australian MPs had said that observers "find it difficult to believe that a leading opposition voice could be charged with sodomy a second time" and noted the allegations came after Anwar made major gains in 2008 polls.
 

Source: AFP