Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial will continue next week after the country's highest court rejected on Tuesday his final appeal to have the charge against him dropped.
Anwar's lawyers argued before the Federal Court that the charge was a political conspiracy against him and that a medical examination on his accuser found no conclusive physical signs of sodomy.
The appeal was dismissed by the three-man panel of judges who ruled that the medical examination report needed to be analysed along with DNA test results of swabs taken from Anwar's accuser that have yet to be released.
The trial started in February and has already seen Anwar's 25-year-old male former aide say in court that the veteran politician sodomised him in 2008, a crime in majority Muslim Malaysia.
The trial will resume on May 10 with the defence cross-examining Anwar's accuser. A conviction carries a maximum 20-year jail term that would effectively end the career of the 63-year old politician.
Anwar was first tried and convicted of corruption and sodomy after his sacking as Deputy Prime Minister in 1998 amid a political feud with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
His sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004, freeing him from a six-year prison sentence to lead a three-party opposition alliance that staged its biggest electoral success in 2008.
Another conviction could anger Anwar's supporters and trigger a repeat of street demonstrations which shook the capital after his sacking.
His trial comes at a time when Prime Minister Najib Razak has pledged economic and political reforms to woo lagging investment and revive the country's ruling coalition.
Political uncertainty after the 2008 general elections have helped dent foreign investment. Net portfolio and direct investment outflows MYFLO=ECI reached $61 billion in 2008 and 2009 according to official data.
Malaysia's highest court has refused to strike out a sodomy charge against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The verdict at the Federal Court paved the way for Anwar's trial to resume next week after a near three-month break.
Anwar could be jailed for up to 20 years if he is convicted of sodomising a 24-year-old male former aide.
Anwar's lawyer, Sankara Nair, said a three-judge panel in the Federal Court rejected Anwar's application for the charge to be dropped on Tuesday.
Anwar insisted the charge was fabricated by Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration to undermine Malaysia's three-party opposition alliance. Mr Najib denied conspiring against Anwar.
Trial hearings began in February with testimony from Anwar's former aide.
