Malaysian court finds opposition leader guilty in sodomy case

Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (2nd R) arrives with his wife Wan Azizah (L), for the verdict in his final appeal against a conviction for sodomy, at the federal court in Putrajaya, February 10, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Malaysia's Federal Court on Tuesday upheld a guilty verdict against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in a sodomy case and maintained a five-year prison sentence imposed by a lower court last year.

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.

Anwar is still seated in the court with his lawyer and is seen holding on to his grandchildren.

About 1,000 Anwar's supporters gathered at the back entrance of the Palace of Justice following an earlier call by opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat to see the opposition leader one last time before he is taken into prison, and the atmosphere outside the court is tense. The number of riot police have been increased to keep vigilant on the spot.