SHAH ALAM, Malaysia: The Malaysian High Court acquitted a close friend of the deputy prime minister Friday of abetting the murder of a Mongolian woman, a ruling that revived opposition claims of political interference in the judiciary.
The judge, Mohamad Zaki Yasin, ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a case against the political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, an associate of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. The court ordered two police officers accused of carrying out the killing to remain on trial.
The case, which captured national attention because of the gruesome nature of the killing and the personalities involved, has not directly implicated the government.
Abdul Razak had been charged with abetting the October 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian interpreter who was blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing near Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor State. Only fragmented remains of her body were found.
Mohamad Zaki ruled there was a sufficiently strong case against the two police officers who are accused of carrying out the killing. He ordered the two men to enter their defense.
Shortly after the ruling, Abdul Razak walked out a free man, almost two years after he was arrested at his office in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 7, 2006.
Abdul Razak, 48, would have faced the death penalty had be been convicted of abetting the killing of Shaariibuu, with whom he confessed to having an eight-month affair.
The prosecution alleged that he ordered the killing after Shaariibuu, 28, began pestering him for money.
Opposition leaders had repeatedly tried to link Najib and his wife to Shaariibuu's death. Najib, who is expected to succeed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March, has insisted that he never knew Shaariibuu and repeatedly denied any involvement in the case.
The opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Abdul Razak's acquittal failed to address doubts about the way the case had been handled. Anwar said there was a "general and growing perception" that there was "a clear motive to cover up."
The prosecutor, Abdul Majid Hamzah, said he would consider filing an appeal.