Crisis Group Board Members Condemn Arrest of Anwar Ibrahim

We the undersigned members of the Board of the International Crisis Group condemn the arrest of our fellow Board member, Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Anwar Ibrahim was arrested outside his home in Kuala Lumpur on 16 July 2008 on charges that are obviously politically motivated, relating to his position as an opposition leader. Though released on bail the following day, the allegations against him remain and are clearly a deliberate attempt to smear him.

We call on the Malaysian government to drop the charges against Anwar Ibrahim and for its leaders not to improperly use the police and judiciary for their partisan purposes.

Lord Patten of Barnes 
Co-Chair, Crisis Group; Former European Commissioner for External Relations

Ambassador Thomas R Pickering 
Co-Chair, Crisis Group; Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Russia, India, Israel, Jordan, El Salvador and Nigeria

Gareth Evans 
President & CEO, Crisis Group; Former Foreign Minister of Australia

Morton Abramowitz 
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and Ambassador to Turkey

Adnan Abu-Odeh
Former Political Adviser to King Abdullah II and to King Hussein, and Jordan Permanent Representative to the UN

Louise Arbour 
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Former Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda

Paddy Ashdown 
Former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats, UK

Shlomo Ben-Ami 
Former Foreign Minister of Israel

Emma Bonino 
Former Minister of International Trade and European Affairs, Italy; Former European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid

Maria Livanos Cattaui 
Member of the Board of Directors, Petroplus Holding AG, Switzerland; former Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce

Naresh Chandra 
Former Indian Cabinet Secretary and Ambassador of India to the U.S.

Pat Cox
Former President of European Parliament

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen 
Former Foreign Minister of Denmark

Joschka Fischer 
Former Foreign Minister of Germany

Leslie H. Gelb 
President Emeritus of Council on Foreign Relations, U.S.

Carla Hills 
Former Secretary of Housing and U.S. Trade Representative

Lena Hjelm-Wallén 
Former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden

Ricardo Lagos 
Former President of Chile

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman 
Novelist and journalist, U.S.;
former International Secretary of International PEN

Moisés Naím 
Editor-in-chief, Foreign Policy magazine; Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Venezuela

Ayo Obe 
Legal Practitioner, Nigeria

Pär Stenbäck 
Former Foreign Minister of Finland

Thorvald Stoltenberg 
Former Foreign Minister of Norway