( CNN ) -- The judge in the sodomy case of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday postponed the trial until August 9 because of allegations a female prosecutor had an affair with his accuser . As a result of the allegations , the defense has asked that charges against Anwar be dropped . A blogger reported last week that the female member of the prosecutor 's office allegedly had an affair with the male aide who accused Anwar , 62 , of sodomizing him at a luxury apartment in June 2008 . Sodomy , even if consensual , is punishable by 20 years in prison in the majority-Muslim country . Anwar has pleaded not guilty to the charge . The prosecution said the woman has been removed from the team even though the allegations involving her have n't been verified . The prosecution must respond over the next week to defense charges that the case has be compromised . Anwar has filed a police report against the woman and the 25-year-old male aide , accusing them of violating the country 's Official Secrets Act . The defense team believes the aide may have had access to confidential trial information . Investigators arrested Anwar in July 2008 -- four months after a loose coalition of opposition parties he led made gains on the ruling party in parliamentary elections . `` I do n't believe that I 'm going to get a fair trial , '' Anwar told CNN in February . `` A fair trial would require a competent , independent judge to immediately strike out the charge because any sexual assault must have a case to support the charge . '' Anwar has called his arrest a `` dirty trick and conspiracy '' orchestrated by authorities who are trying to discredit him . `` They think that by doing this they can frustrate the opposition because they think the coalition will be more fragile without me , '' said Anwar , who oversees a multiethnic opposition alliance and his own Justice Party . `` Clearly they have underestimated the commitment of the ( parties ) . '' The U.S. State Department has said that Anwar 's arrest `` raises serious questions and concerns . '' Anwar was the heir apparent to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad until 1998 , when he was sacked and charged for corruption and sodomy . Anwar spent six years in prison after being convicted on corruption charges in 1999 and on sodomy charges involving his wife 's former driver in 2000 . Malaysia 's highest court overturned the sodomy conviction and ordered him released from prison in 2004 . However , the corruption verdict was never lifted , barring him from running for political posts until 2008 . A loose coalition of opposition parties -- with Anwar at the helm -- won 82 of 222 parliamentary seats in elections in March of that year . It was the second time in the country 's history that the ruling party failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution . Anwar has said the investigators trying to build a case against him are the same ones who hid evidence that could have cleared him in his sodomy-related conviction in 1999 . Journalist Liz Gooch contributed to this report .
A junior officer is accused of having an affair with the accuser . The sodomy trial of Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed until August 2018 . Sodomy can result in a 20-year sentence in prison even if consensual .