Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim won a bid Friday to prevent Malaysia's government from transferring his sodomy trial to a higher court _ a move he claimed could have caused him to face a biased judge.
Anwar was charged in August with sodomizing a 23-year-old man _ a former aide. The former deputy prime minister faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted but has dismissed the accusation as a political plot by the government, which denies any conspiracy against Anwar.
Before Anwar's trial could begin in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, the attorney general recently ordered it to be transferred to the High Court.
However, Sessions Court Judge Komathy Suppiah ruled Friday the case should remain with her, saying the transfer order was invalid. A preliminary hearing to schedule trial dates is expected to be held Nov. 14.
Anwar has said the government's effort to move the hearings "raised a lot of suspicion" that officials might select a biased judge.
Government lawyers rejected Anwar's claim, saying the High Court was more suited to hear a case that would draw tremendous public attention and possibly involve complicated legal issues.
It was the second sodomy charge confronting Anwar in less than a decade.
Anwar, 61, was convicted of sodomizing his former family driver in 2000 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sodomy and corruption. He was freed in 2004 after the sodomy conviction was overturned. Anwar claims he was innocent of the charges.
The latest sodomy allegation surfaced in June, about three months after Anwar's three-party alliance won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament. He recently pledged to topple the government with parliamentary defections but backed away from his threat last month.
