The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, a member of the House of Representatives of Malaysia at the time of submission of the complaint, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/178/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 177th session (October 2005),

Recalling the following: Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Finance Minister, was found guilty in April 1999 and August 2000 on charges of corrupt practices (directing two senior police officers to obtain retractions of allegations of sexual misconduct made by two persons against him) and sodomy, respectively; in September 2004, the Federal Court quashed the conviction in the sodomy case and ordered Mr. Ibrahim’s release; however, as a result of the conviction in the *corrupt practices" case, he will remain debarred from holding office in political parties and standing for election until April 2008,

Recalling further that in May 2005 a group of Malaysian citizens submitted to the King of Malaysia a petition for a Royal Pardon of Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, setting out the following rationale: (i) Mr. Ibrahim has served his prison sentence for a longer period than is normal practice, (ii) he has suffered injuries while in police custody as a result of being assaulted by the former Inspector General of Police, (iii) the court’s decision on the first charge (corrupt practices) became irrelevant when the court’s decision on the second charge (sexual misconduct) was set aside on appeal to the Federal Court since the two charges were interrelated, and (iv) that a precedent has been set in granting royal pardons; considering, however, that the petition has so far remained unanswered,

Recalling lastly that Article 42 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which deals with the power to pardon, stipulates that the King is empowered to grant pardons on the recommendation of the Prime Minister,

1. Deeply regrets that Mr. Anwar Ibrahim has not been granted a pardon to date and, as a consequence, remains debarred from exercising his political rights in his country;

2. Reaffirms its full support for the granting of a royal pardon to Mr. Anwar Ibrahim;

3. Calls once again on the Prime Minister of Malaysia to exercise his powers under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia in order to allow the pardon petition to be considered;

4. Requests the Secretary General to inform the King of Malaysia, the Prime Minister and the parliamentary authorities of its continuing full support for a royal pardon;

5. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006).

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