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Chronology of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial

June 28, 2008: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan made a police report alleging that Anwar had sodomised him at a condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

Aug 7, 2008: Anwar pleaded not guilty against the charge of having carnal intercourse against the order of nature at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Judge S. M. Komathy Suppiah allowed Anwar to be released on personal bond of RM20,000 without surety, pending the disposal of the case.

March 10, 2009: The Sessions Court transferred the trial to the High Court with immediate effect. The High Court fixed July 1-24 for the sodomy trial.

June 17, 2009: Anwar applied to the High Court to strike out his sodomy charge on grounds that the entire charge was “a travesty, a complete farce and has absolutely no basis.”

Dec 1, 2009: The High Court ruled that it could not strike out the sodomy charge against Anwar, based solely on medical reports that there was no penetration. Justice Mohamad Zabidin said medical reports could not serve as the basis for the court to use its inherent powers to strike out the charge.

Feb 3, 2010: The sodomy trial opened with Mohd Saiful taking the stand as the first witness. In his testimony, Mohd Saiful revealed that Anwar, whom he had accused of sodomising him, had invited him to engage in carnal intercourse against the order of nature.

Feb 5, 2010: The trial judge, the prosecution and the defence revisited the Desa Damansara condominium where the alleged sodomy took place. Earlier, Mohd Saiful told the High Court that he did not pass motion for two days after he was sodomised by Anwar. He also testified that a pair of trousers he was wearing on the day of the incident was a gift from Anwar.

Feb 9, 2010: The sodomy trial was postponed again to enable the defence to file a response to the prosecution's affidavit-in-reply to Anwar's recusal application.

It was adjourned after the defence applied for Justice Mohamad Zabidin to recuse himself from hearing the case on grounds of bias.

Feb 25, 2010: The Federal Court rejected Anwar's application to procure key documents, including Mohd Saiful's DNA specimen sample, before the commencement of his sodomy trial.

March 3, 2010: During cross-examination by Anwar's lawyer, (the late) Karpal Singh, Mohd Saiful told the High Court that he did not wash his anus after the alleged incident as he wanted to preserve evidence.

Mohd Saiful also said that he did not bathe after the incident and only rinsed his body.

Aug 16, 2010: Anwar failed in his second attempt to drop the sodomy charge against him after his application to strike out the charge was dismissed by the High Court.

In his bid to drop the charge, Anwar claimed that the integrity and impartiality of the entire prosecution team had been compromised because of an alleged affair between Mohd Saiful and a member of the prosecution team.

Sept 20, 2010: The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Anwar over his second application to strike out the sodomy charge against him, ruling that it had no jurisdiction to hear the issue.

Aug 22, 2011: Anwar, who opted to give evidence from the dock when reading his 32-page statement, denied he had sex with Mohd Saiful.

Jan 9, 2012: The High Court acquitted and discharged Anwar of sodomising Mohd Saiful. In the 80-page written judgment, Justice Mohamad Zabidin reveals there was penile penetration but it was uncorroborated by other evidence. He said the court could not be 100 per cent certain on the integrity of samples taken for DNA testing from Mohd Saiful as the samples could have been compromised before they reached the chemistry department for analysis.

July 9, 2012: The prosecution filed its petition of appeal which contained nine grounds, among others, to have Anwar convicted on a sodomy charge under Section 377B of the Penal Code.

Feb 22, 2013: The Court of Appeal has set two days from July 22, 2013 to hear the prosecution's appeal over Anwar's acquittal.

Sept 18, 2013: The Court of Appeal rejected Anwar's first application to disqualify senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from appearing as public prosecutor to lead the prosecution in its appeal against his acquittal on a sodomy charge.

Nov 21, 2013: Anwar failed in his appeal at the Federal Court to disqualify Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from appearing as public prosecutor to lead the prosecution in its appeal. He filed the application as he said Muhammad Shafee could not appear as public prosecutor in the appeal because he (Muhammad Shafee) was a material witness in the sodomy trial.

Dec 11, 2013: Anwar filed his second attempt to disqualify Muhammad Shafee.

Dec 20, 2013: Anwar failed in his second attempt to disqualify Muhammad Shafee as lead prosecutor. In dismissing Anwar's application, Court of Appeal ruled that Anwar's application was devoid of any merit.

March 6 and 7, 2014: The Court of Appeal heard submissions from Muhammad Shafee and lawyer Karpal Singh.

March 7, 2014: Anwar was sentenced to five years' jail by the Court of Appeal after the court found him guilty of sodomising Mohd Saiful, six years ago. Justice Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi, who led a three-man panel in hearing the prosecution's appeal in the case, however, granted Anwar's application for a stay of the sentence, pending appeal with bail of RM10,000 in one surety. In overturning the High Court's decision in acquitting Anwar, Balia said the panel unanimously held that the trial judge had erred in his findings that the integrity of DNA samples used in the case had been compromised. Karpal Singh, speaking to reporters later, said that with this ruling, Anwar could not file his nomination papers for the Kajang state seat by-election on March 10.

April 24, 2014: The opposition leader filed a petition of appeal against his five-year jail sentence for sodomy at the Federal Court Registrar's Office, citing 35 grounds why his conviction and sentence should be set aside.

Aug 14, 2014: The Federal Court fixed Oct 28 and 29 to hear Anwar's final appeal. Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah, a senior lawyer, would lead the defence team, following the death of lawyer Karpal Singh in a road accident on April 17.

Oct 14, 2014: The Federal Court ruled that Muhammad Shafee was a proper and fit person to lead the prosecution team in Anwar's appeal on Oct 28.

Oct 28 and 29, 2014: The Federal Court is scheduled to hear submissions from the defence and prosecution.

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