Anwar Ibrahim gets 5-year jail term for sodomy. He tells family: 'See you in some years'
Malaysia’s highest court on Tuesday (Feb 10) upheld a sodomy conviction and five-year jail term for Anwar Ibrahim.
The decision threw the opposition leader’s political future in peril. Anwar angrily denounced the decision "as a conspiracy".
Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria dismissed Anwar’s challenge against last year’s conviction for sodomising a young male former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari, saying the court found "overwhelming evidence" of the crime.
Sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years in prison in Malaysia, and Anwar was expected to begin his sentence immediately.
CJ Arifin read his judgment out to a stunned courtroom packed with journalists, opposition figures, and Anwar’s family and supporters, many of whom wept quietly.
Upon hearing the verdict, the Opposition leader hugged his family, saying: "See you in some years" before waving to the public gallery.
Anwar then looked at his grandson and said: "Remember what I told you, you must go to school".
He later tweeted:
This marks the second sodomy conviction for Anwar in a career marked by sharp ups and downs.
The 67-year-old was a popular top leader of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) until his sensational ouster in a bitter 1998 power struggle.
Source: AFP, The Star Online
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