Anwar was first charged in 2008 with sodomizing a 26-year-old male former aide at a Kuala Lumpur condominium in June that year. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Anwar insists the government fabricated the charge after his opposition alliance made tremendous inroads in 2008 elections. Prime Minister Najib Razak has denied any conspiracy.
Seven witnesses who testified for the defense included a German spinal surgeon who said the 64-year-old Anwar was unlikely to have been physically capable of the act.
Prosecution lawyers told the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday they will call four witnesses this week for brief testimonies to rebut the defense.
Sankara Nair, one of Anwar’s lawyers, said hearings would probably end after those witnesses finish. Lawyers are then expected to take several weeks to submit written summaries of their arguments to the judge before he delivers a verdict.
Anwar’s supporters fear that if he is imprisoned within the next few months, the opposition would be severely weakened without their top figure ahead of national elections widely expected by mid-2012.
It is Anwar’s second time being embroiled in a sex trial. He lost his post as deputy prime minister in 1998 and was later convicted of sodomizing his family’s ex-driver and abusing his power to cover up his actions, which he denied. He was freed in 2004 after six years of imprisonment when a court overturned the sodomy conviction.
