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| Malaysian Court Upholds Opposition Leader’s Sodomy Conviction | Malaysian Court Upholds Opposition Leader’s Sodomy Conviction |
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| PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — A Malaysian court on Tuesday upheld a sodomy conviction and a five-year prison sentence for Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the country’s opposition, in the culmination of a protracted legal battle entwined with a high-stakes struggle for political supremacy. | PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — A Malaysian court on Tuesday upheld a sodomy conviction and a five-year prison sentence for Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the country’s opposition, in the culmination of a protracted legal battle entwined with a high-stakes struggle for political supremacy. |
| A lower court had sentenced Mr. Anwar to five years in prison on the charge last year, and the Federal Court’s rejection Tuesday of his final appeal effectively removed him as the linchpin of a fractious but ascendant opposition less than two years after the government was nearly toppled in a general election. | A lower court had sentenced Mr. Anwar to five years in prison on the charge last year, and the Federal Court’s rejection Tuesday of his final appeal effectively removed him as the linchpin of a fractious but ascendant opposition less than two years after the government was nearly toppled in a general election. |
| “This, to me, is a fabrication coming from a political conspiracy to stop my career,” Mr. Anwar said in the courtroom here in the country’s administrative capital after the court upheld his conviction, but before the ruling on his sentence. | “This, to me, is a fabrication coming from a political conspiracy to stop my career,” Mr. Anwar said in the courtroom here in the country’s administrative capital after the court upheld his conviction, but before the ruling on his sentence. |
| Addressing the judges directly, Mr. Anwar called them “partners in crime” and said, “You chose to remain on the dark side.” As he continued to speak, the five judges walked out of the chamber. | Addressing the judges directly, Mr. Anwar called them “partners in crime” and said, “You chose to remain on the dark side.” As he continued to speak, the five judges walked out of the chamber. |
| Malaysia’s governing party, which has presided over the country since it attained independence from Britain in 1957, has long employed mildly authoritarian tactics to stay in power. In recent months, using an archaic sedition law, prosecutors have filed a raft of cases against government critics, including opposition figures, a professor and a cartoonist. | Malaysia’s governing party, which has presided over the country since it attained independence from Britain in 1957, has long employed mildly authoritarian tactics to stay in power. In recent months, using an archaic sedition law, prosecutors have filed a raft of cases against government critics, including opposition figures, a professor and a cartoonist. |
| This was the second prosecution of Mr. Anwar, 67, on a charge of sodomy. He spent six years in prison after a conviction in a separate sodomy trial by a different accuser but was acquitted on appeal in 2004. He has always insisted that the charges were baseless and politically motivated, while human rights groups have criticized the government for enforcing a law that they say is discriminatory. | |
| Soon after Mr. Anwar’s conviction was upheld Tuesday, the Malaysian government issued a statement saying that “exhaustive and comprehensive due process” had been followed throughout the case. | Soon after Mr. Anwar’s conviction was upheld Tuesday, the Malaysian government issued a statement saying that “exhaustive and comprehensive due process” had been followed throughout the case. |
| “The police report against Anwar Ibrahim was brought by a private individual — Anwar’s employee and personal assistant — not by the government,” the statement read. “As the victim of a serious sexual assault, he had every right to have his case heard in court.” That characterization, however, was at odds with the case brought by the prosecutors, who argued that Mr. Anwar and his accuser had engaged in consensual sodomy. | “The police report against Anwar Ibrahim was brought by a private individual — Anwar’s employee and personal assistant — not by the government,” the statement read. “As the victim of a serious sexual assault, he had every right to have his case heard in court.” That characterization, however, was at odds with the case brought by the prosecutors, who argued that Mr. Anwar and his accuser had engaged in consensual sodomy. |
| Sodomy, or “carnal intercourse against the course of nature,” is illegal for both heterosexual and homosexual couples in Malaysia and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. But the law is very rarely invoked. | Sodomy, or “carnal intercourse against the course of nature,” is illegal for both heterosexual and homosexual couples in Malaysia and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. But the law is very rarely invoked. |
| The sodomy accusations in the current case were brought by Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who said Mr. Anwar had sex with him when he was working as an aide in Mr. Anwar’s party. | |
| In their appeal in the case, last October, defense attorneys argued that the semen samples that were offered as evidence in the trial were corrupted: retrieved from the accuser’s body 36 hours after the alleged incident, kept in an unrefrigerated cabinet by the police and submitted for DNA analysis two days later, 96 hours after the alleged incident. | In their appeal in the case, last October, defense attorneys argued that the semen samples that were offered as evidence in the trial were corrupted: retrieved from the accuser’s body 36 hours after the alleged incident, kept in an unrefrigerated cabinet by the police and submitted for DNA analysis two days later, 96 hours after the alleged incident. |
| In a country where the government regularly bans performances by Western artists judged to be lewd, both trials featured discussions of semen-stained carpets and mattresses, and of the use of personal lubricants. | In a country where the government regularly bans performances by Western artists judged to be lewd, both trials featured discussions of semen-stained carpets and mattresses, and of the use of personal lubricants. |
| Mr. Anwar’s defense team portrayed the current case as blatantly political. The accuser testified that two days before the sex allegedly occurred, he met with Mr. Anwar’s political rival, Najib Razak, who was deputy prime minister at the time and who has since become prime minister. It was not made clear in court how a clerk working for the opposition obtained a meeting with Mr. Najib, one of the country’s most powerful men. | Mr. Anwar’s defense team portrayed the current case as blatantly political. The accuser testified that two days before the sex allegedly occurred, he met with Mr. Anwar’s political rival, Najib Razak, who was deputy prime minister at the time and who has since become prime minister. It was not made clear in court how a clerk working for the opposition obtained a meeting with Mr. Najib, one of the country’s most powerful men. |
| The accuser also met with senior police officials before the alleged crime, and the reasons for those meetings were not explained. | The accuser also met with senior police officials before the alleged crime, and the reasons for those meetings were not explained. |
| The lead prosecutor in the trial, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who counts the prime minister and the governing party as clients in his private practice, was also at Mr. Najib’s home when the accuser visited. | The lead prosecutor in the trial, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who counts the prime minister and the governing party as clients in his private practice, was also at Mr. Najib’s home when the accuser visited. |
| N. Surendran, a defense lawyer, argued in court during the appeal that the authorities had “a prearranged plan” to prosecute Mr. Anwar. | N. Surendran, a defense lawyer, argued in court during the appeal that the authorities had “a prearranged plan” to prosecute Mr. Anwar. |
| Mr. Anwar’s legal team repeatedly but without success sought to remove the prosecutor in the trial on the grounds that he was a material witness. They also sought to have Mr. Najib and his wife testify in court, a request the court also rejected. (Mr. Najib’s lawyers said his meeting with Mr. Anwar’s accuser had no connection with the alleged sodomy that took place two days later; the judge agreed and said he did not need to testify.) | Mr. Anwar’s legal team repeatedly but without success sought to remove the prosecutor in the trial on the grounds that he was a material witness. They also sought to have Mr. Najib and his wife testify in court, a request the court also rejected. (Mr. Najib’s lawyers said his meeting with Mr. Anwar’s accuser had no connection with the alleged sodomy that took place two days later; the judge agreed and said he did not need to testify.) |
| Mr. Anwar was initially acquitted in 2012 by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, in the capital, but prosecutors appealed, and Mr. Anwar was sentenced to five years in prison after the appeal. | Mr. Anwar was initially acquitted in 2012 by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, in the capital, but prosecutors appealed, and Mr. Anwar was sentenced to five years in prison after the appeal. |
| Defense lawyers say the judgment was unusually swift: The sentence was delivered 90 minutes after lawyers had finished their submissions. | Defense lawyers say the judgment was unusually swift: The sentence was delivered 90 minutes after lawyers had finished their submissions. |
| The date of the appeal hearings was initially scheduled for April last year. But it was moved up to March, days before Mr. Anwar was due to register for an election that could have put him in charge of the country’s richest state, Selangor, which is under opposition control. The sentence blocked Mr. Anwar from running in the election. | The date of the appeal hearings was initially scheduled for April last year. But it was moved up to March, days before Mr. Anwar was due to register for an election that could have put him in charge of the country’s richest state, Selangor, which is under opposition control. The sentence blocked Mr. Anwar from running in the election. |
| Christopher Leong, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, said moving up the trial date and the unusually swift sentencing had led to a “perception that justice may have been hijacked.” | Christopher Leong, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, said moving up the trial date and the unusually swift sentencing had led to a “perception that justice may have been hijacked.” |
| Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister in the governing party, was ousted from power in 1998. His jailing will leave the opposition, which attracts supporters as varied as rural Islamic conservatives and ethnic Chinese city dwellers, without a clear unifying figure. | Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister in the governing party, was ousted from power in 1998. His jailing will leave the opposition, which attracts supporters as varied as rural Islamic conservatives and ethnic Chinese city dwellers, without a clear unifying figure. |