Malaysia: Malaysia's top court on Tuesday upheld opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction and sentenced him to five years in prison, a verdict he slammed - while standing in the dock - as the "murder of judicial independence" and the result of a political conspiracy.
The case was widely seen at home and abroad as politically motivated to eliminate any threats to the ruling coalition whose popularity has slowly been eroding since 2008 after more than five decades of unquestioned dominance. Anwar is the most popular, vocal and visible symbol of the opposition's resurgence and had become a potent political threat to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
This was Anwar's final appeal, and he was led by police out of the court, presumably to the prison to serve time on charges of sodomizing a then 23-year-old aide who worked in his office.
"I have to go. Time's up," the 67-year-old politician told his supporters inside the court. "I will miss you all," he said bowing to them before walking out.
Anwar was accused of sodomizing Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008 when he was working as a lowly functionary in the opposition election campaign office. Anwar was acquitted by the High Court in 2012 but the Appeals Court overturned the acquittal in March last year and sentenced him to five years in jail.
Anwar went to Federal Court to appeal that verdict, which ruled Tuesday there was "overwhelming evidence" to support the conviction. "It is beyond reasonable doubt that (Saiful) was sodomized by the appellant. The appeal is dismissed," said Justice Arifin Zakat who read the verdict for two hours on behalf of the five-judge panel.
The court also kept the five-year sentence, even though the prosecutor had asked for more than six years. Sodomy, even consensual, is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Saiful maintained that he submitted to it because he was afraid of Anwar.
Saiful, now 30, since got married and has a son. He said on his blog Tuesday he is thankful for the judgment, which proves the court found him a credible witness. "What is important is that I and my family can now move forward," he wrote.
The Federal Court said Anwar's allegations that the case was a political conspiracy "remains an allegation, unsubstantiated by any facts whatsoever." It also rejected the defense argument that the semen samples taken from Saiful's body were tampered with by the police.
Addressing the judges from the dock after the verdict, Anwar said: "You have become partners in crime in the murder of judicial independence," prompting them to get up and walk out of the room, with Justice Arifin heard saying "I don't need to hear all this."
Anwar, however, continued speaking from the dock. "Allah be my witness. I pledge that I will not be silenced. I will fight on for freedom and justice. I will never surrender."
"I maintain my innocence. This to me is a fabrication coming from a political conspiracy to stop my political career," Anwar said.
As the last words of the verdict were read out, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, burst into tears. Anwar hugged and consoled her before turning to his children and grandchildren. He smiled and hugged them too.
Watched by about 300 policemen, hundreds of his supporters gathered peacefully outside the imposing court building in Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia. The supporters are "definitely disappointed," said Edmund Teoh, 29, calling the court partial and unjust.
The verdict is the "death of justice. We will keep on fighting for a better Malaysia. We won't give up," said another supporter, Tey Khang Fai, 33.
In an apparently pre-written statement released minutes after the verdict, the Prime Minister's Office said Anwar's case has gone through an exhaustive legal process, and that the case was brought by an individual, not the government.
"The process is now complete and we call on all parties to respect the legal process and judgment ... Malaysia has an independent judiciary, and there have been many rulings against senior government figures," it said.
Anwar previously was imprisoned for six years after being ousted as deputy prime minister in 1998 on earlier charges of sodomizing his former family driver and abusing his power. He was freed in 2004 after Malaysia's top court quashed that sodomy conviction. That case was also widely seen as politically motivated, as it came at a time when he was locked in a power struggle with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The latest verdict brought forth a torrent of criticism from local and international human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Federation for Human Rights. They called the verdict "disgraceful," a "black day" and "totally unjust."
Malaysian human rights group Suaram pointed out that that the political nature of the trial was apparent from the fact that Saiful had met with the prime minister and senior officials before making a police complaint; medical records had shown no penetration; one of Anwar's lawyers was charged twice with sedition for criticizing the Appeals Court judgment.
"The Federal Court's verdict is the disgraceful conclusion of a relentless judicial campaign against Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysia's judiciary failed to demonstrate its independence from the executive branch in a trial that had clear political motivations," said FIDH President Karim Lahidji.
Anwar said his jailing for a second time would be toughest on his family, but that they were all very supportive.
Instead of breaking up his three-party alliance, he warned Najib that jailing him could backfire and galvanize more support for the opposition.
"They will continue with or without Anwar," Anwar said. "Authoritarian leaders always believe the best way to deal with dissidents is to jail them, but throughout history, it has always backfired," he said.
Anwar led his alliance to unprecedented gains in 2008 elections and made further inroads in 2013 polls. Najib's National Front coalition won with a slimmer majority and lost the popular vote to the opposition.
