Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian opposition leader, has filed a lawsuit against the government to counter allegations that he sexually assaulted one of his male aides.
Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, filed the defamation suit in Kuala Lumpur through his lawyers on Monday.
The legal action is to clear Anwar's name amid a scandal that could tarnish his political aspirations of becoming prime minister, his lawyers said.
On Saturday a 23-year-old male aide filed a police complaint accusing Anwar of sodomising him.
Anwar, rejecting the sodomy accusation as "a complete fabrication", has been holed up in the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur since early Sunday, claiming his safety was in danger and accusing the government of trying to thwart his rising political clout.
Malaysia's foreign minister has since accused Turkey of meddling in Malaysia's internal affairs by giving refuge to an opposition leader.
Rais Yatim was quoted in local media as saying Turkey's actions were "very questionable", adding that said Anwar was being sought for a criminal investigation and therefore does not qualify for diplomatic protection.
"We will ask the ambassador to reconsider," Rais was quoted as saying in The Star newspaper on Monday.
'Political murder'
Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim, Anwar's wife and president of the opposition Keadilan party, described the new sodomy accusation as an attempt at "political murder".
Sodomy is outlawed in Malaysia and carries a maximum 20 years jail sentence.
A similar accusation of sodomy, which Anwar claims was a trumped up charge, led to his sacking as deputy prime minister and subsequent arrest in 1998.
He was jailed for sodomy and corruption but the sodomy conviction was later overturned.
The corruption conviction however barred Anwar from holding political office until April 15 this year.
The former deputy prime minister has told Al Jazeera he will remain in the embassy until he is assured of his safety.
Police are awaiting results of medical tests on Anwar's accuser.
Abdullah Badawi, the Malaysian prime minister, denies that his government had any responsibility for the aide's accusation, saying there was no conspiracy "to cause [Anwar] trouble or harass him or raise such issues to undermine him".
Anwar has recently been stepping up a campaign to unseat Abdullah, saying he is in a position to engineer enough defections from the ruling coalition.
AlJazeera
30/06/08
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