2nd LD Wrtiethru: Malaysian court finds opposition leader guilty in sodomy case
Xinhua, February 10, 2015 Adjust font size:
Malaysia's federal court announced guilty verdict over opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case on Tuesday.
A five-member Federal Court bench upheld a verdict by the Court of Appeal which found Anwar guilty. In his appeal, Anwar was asking the Federal Court to set aside the conviction and sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal.
On March 7, 2014, the Court of Appeal sentenced Anwar to five years in jail for sodomizing his aide Mohd Saiful Azlan Bukhari, overturning an acquittal by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Jan. 9, 2012.
According to the Malaysian constitution, Tuesday's verdict by the Federal Court will remove the opposition leader from his parliament seat.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a statement regarding the verdict, calling on all parties to respect the legal process and the judgment.
"In this case, exhaustive and comprehensive due process has been followed over many years, and the process is now complete," he said.
Opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat called on Anwar's supporters to gather at the rear entrance of the Palace of Justice to see Anwar one last time before he is taken into prison. Endi