Malaysia Top court upholds Anwar Ibrahim sodomy conviction

Malaysia's top court has upheld opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's conviction for sodomy after rejecting his appeal.
He will now go to prison immediately to serve the five-year term that he was given in March 2014.

It will be Mr Anwar's second spell in jail on charges which he has always argued have been politically motivated.

Mr Anwar is widely seen as the only man who can break the governing coalition's dominance, correspondents say.

"I maintain my innocence. This to me is a fabrication coming from a political conspiracy to stop my political career," Mr Anwar told the court.

He told the judges: "You have become partners in crime in the murder of judicial independence," prompting them to get up and walk out of the room, AP news agency reported.

In this most recent case, Mr Anwar was accused of having sex with a male political aide in 2008. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, though very few people are ever prosecuted.

He was cleared by a High Court of the charges in 2012 because of a lack of evidence. The government then appealed and his acquittal was overturned. It is Mr Anwar's appeal against this ruling that has now been rejected.

The popular politician was previously imprisoned for six years for sodomy and corruption after being ousted as deputy prime minister in 1998.

He was freed in 2004 and went on to lead his three-party alliance to unprecedented gains in the 2008 and 2013 elections. In the latter, the ruling Barisan Nasional, which has been in power since 1957, suffered its worst-ever result.