Malaysia court upholds sodomy conviction against opposition leader

Malaysia’s top court on Tuesday upheld opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction and maintained a five-year jail term that a lower court had imposed earlier.

Anwar slammed the verdict by the Federal Court as the “murder of judicial independence” and the result of a political conspiracy.

The case has widely been 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, which has become a potent threat to Prime Minister Najib Razak.