Court throws out Malaysian opposition leader’s appeal against sodomy sentencing

A federal court in Malaysia has rejected the appeal of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to set aside his sodomy conviction and five-year jail term.

The court ruling now means Ibrahim will have to serve out the remaining 16 months of his prison term after losing his final bid for freedom on Wednesday.

A five-member panel of judges ruled unanimously that there was no merit in Ibrahim’s application for a review of his 2014 conviction, his final legal option for an acquittal.

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“This is not a fit or proper case for this court to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to initiate a review,” Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, the Chief Judge of Malaya, said as he read excerpts from a 60-page ruling.

Ibrahim was convicted and jailed for sodomizing a former aide, a charge that he and his supporters say was a politically motivated attempt to end his career.

“This is not the end of the road … I have pleaded and reiterated my innocence but the judiciary has ignored my pleas,” Ibrahim told reporters in the court after the verdict.

“This is a long walk to freedom,” he said.

 

 

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