High court upholds opposition leader's sodomy conviction

Malaysia's highest court upheld a sodomy conviction and five-year jail term on Tuesday for Anwar Ibrahim, throwing the opposition leader's political future into peril with a decision that he angrily denounced as a conspiracy.

Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria dismissed Anwar's challenge of last year's conviction for sodomizing a young male former aide, saying the court found "overwhelming evidence" of the crime.

Sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years in prison in Muslim-majority Malaysia and Anwar was expected to begin his sentence immediately.