Malaysian opposition leader found guilty and jailed for sodomy

Malaysia’s highest court found opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim guilty on charges of sodomy and upheld a five-year jail sentence on Tuesday in a case that his supporters claim was politically motivated. The Federal Court’s judgement upholds a ruling by the Court of Appeal in March last year, which found the 67-year-old guilty of sodomising a former political aide. He is expected to be sentenced later on Tuesday. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia where the offence carries a jail term of up to 20 years.

I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’m also realistic. I’m mentally, spiritually and physically prepared to return to jail.

Malaysia opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim

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. A popular former deputy prime minister in the UMNO administration, Anwar was sensationally ousted in a bitter 1998 power struggle, beaten by police and jailed for six years on past sodomy and corruption charges. The case was widely viewed as politically motivated, and the sodomy conviction was eventually thrown out.

World Anwar Ibrahim