By NNN-Bernama,
Kuala Lumpur : The Turkish Embassy here gave refuge to Malaysia’s de facto Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim last week, based on humanitarian grounds, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan clarified today.
He also emphasised that Anwar who is Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor stayed at the ambassador’s house and not at the embassy, as reported by several news organisations.
“There was no political aspect to it. It was 100 per cent based on humanitarian aspects. The issue has been settled, it is behind us now,” Babacan told reporters on the sidelines of the Eight Developing Islamic Countries (D-8) Summit here.
He revealed that Anwar “actually” applied to the embassy for protection as the opposition leader was concerned about his personal safety.
“Our ambassador here opened his house to him (Anwar), he stayed at the house for 26 hours and not (at) our embassy.”
“When he (Anwar) felt comfortable, he decided to leave the house on his own,” added Babacan.
On June 30, Anwar caused a stir when he sought refuge in the Turkish embassy at Jalan Ampang here, claiming he had received death threats, in the wake of a sodomy allegation made by his aide.
He left the ambassador’s residence on Monday.