Malaysia's top court Tuesday upheld opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's conviction for sodomy in a case his supporters and international observers said was politically motivated.
Anwar, seen as the main obstacle to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government, was sentenced to five years. On conviction he had to give up his parliamentary seat and is now barred from standing.
The Federal Court delivered its ruling following an appeal by Anwar against a five-year sentence passed in March last year. That sentence followed the government’s appeal against Anwar’s 2012 acquittal on the same charge.
Passing sentence, Chief Justice Ariffin Zakaria said: “We hold there is no merit in the complaint of political conspiracy. A mere denial does not mean it could be accepted. A political conspiracy allegation remains unsubstantiated.”
He added that there was "overwhelming evidence" against the 67-year-old leader of the People’s Alliance.
Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, and his supporters claim the case, initiated in 2008, was designed to remove him from politics.
He has been at the heart of Malaysia’s opposition for more than a decade and has faced repeated criminal charges.
Opposition lawmaker Tian Chua described the verdict as “shocking and disappointing.”
He told The Anadolu Agency: “All signs point that this is a political trial. The Malaysian ruling elite are using the old repressive political methods. The judgment is a script prepared for the judges by their political masters. Today judgment turns back the clock to a dark age."
"From now on, the opposition will have to demonstrate a much more united stand, to ensure a major victory at the next polls. That would be the first blow to the ruling regime, showing them that their methods will not bend the opposition strength."
In a statement, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Prime Minister Najib Razak's government has persisted in its politically motivated prosecution of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at the expense of democratic freedoms and the rights to non-discrimination and privacy for all Malaysians."
"Allowing this travesty of justice to stand will further undermine respect for rights and democracy in Malaysia."
Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia but very few people are ever prosecuted.
Prior to the verdict, Anwar said there was "no reason whatsoever for them to ever consider putting me to jail."
He added: "Now in the event there's a political decision to put me in jail, I understand the system."
The case is Anwar’s second sodomy conviction since he was sacked from the government in 1998. His previous conviction was overturned.
Anwar hugged his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, children and grandchildren after the verdict.
Outside the court in Kuala Lumpur, hundreds of his supporters decried the verdict. His previous imprisonment in 1999 triggered mass anti-government protests.
The case is the latest in a long line of legal troubles Anwar has faced since falling out with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad in the late 1990s, when he was a rising star of the ruling United Malay National Organization, known as UMNO. He was imprisoned on corruption charges in 1999, charges that, along with a sentence for sodomy in 2000, were overturned in 2004.
The current allegation stems from claims made by former assistant Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008, shortly after Anwar led the opposition to its best electoral performance since independence, gaining more than a third of parliamentary seats.
He was acquitted in 2012 by the High Court, which cited tainted DNA evidence, but the acquittal was overturned by the Court of Appeal in March last year.
The ruling party has been in power since independence in 1957 but in the 2013 general election it won fewer votes than the People’s Alliance. It still managed to cling to power under Malaysian electoral rules.
Anwar dubbed it the "worst electoral fraud in our history" and the result led to rallies of tens of thousands of black-clad protesters.
Since the election, Prime Minister Najib Razak has cracked down on civil liberties and arrested student and civil society leaders.
Following the sentencing, the government issued a statement: “In this case, exhaustive and comprehensive due process has been followed over many years. That process is now complete, and we call on all parties involved to respect the legal process and the judgment.”
