Malaysia upholds opposition leader Anwar's sodomy conviction
The nation’s highest court announced its decision in Anwar’s appeal against the conviction handed down last March.
Malaysia’s top court has rejected a final appeal from Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and sent him back to jail in a case seen at home and aboard as politically motivated to eliminate any threats to the government.
The Federal Court announced today that it has upheld Anwar’s five-year sentence on charges of sodomising a male aide. It was his last avenue for appeal.
Anwar, 67, was accused of sodomising a male aide in 2008, but was acquitted by the High Court in 2012. However, the Appeals Court overturned the acquittal in March last year and sentenced him to five years in jail. He has said the charges were trumped up to kill his political career.
He is the most potent threat to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling party.
The opposition calls the case part of a long-running campaign by the government to harass Anwar, a former top official who was ousted in the late 1990s and later helped unite a previously divided and hapless opposition into a formidable force.
With Anwar leading, the three-party opposition alliance has threatened to unseat the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), one of the world’s longest-ruling governments.