Malaysian Gay Sex Scandal Has Opposition Leader Sent to Jail for Five Years

Ekaterina Blinova — Anwar Ibrahim, a Malaysian opposition leader, has been sentenced to five years in prison, charged with sodomizing of his former aide in 2008.

"Malaysia has an independent judiciary, and there have been many rulings against senior government figures…. In this case, exhaustive and comprehensive due process has been followed over many years. That process is now complete, and we call on all parties involved to respect the legal process and the judgment," the official statement of the Malaysian government published on Tuesday, February 10, reads.

According to the state's prosecutors, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, was coerced into buggery by Anwar Ibrahim in 2008, while the young man, then 23, was serving as a lowly aide in the opposition election campaign. The aide reported to the police that he was involved in a nonconsensual sex act with his employer, prompting an immediate arrest of the politician: sodomy is considered illegal in Malaysia and is punishable with up to 20 years in prison.

Although the opposition leader was acquitted by the High Court in 2012, the verdict was then quashed by the Appeals Court in March 2014, who handed Anwar a five year jail term. The Federal Court upheld the sentence on Tuesday, February 10, citing "overwhelming evidence" of the fact that Saiful was sodomized by the politician.

Dismissing the allegations, the defendant claimed that the evidence against him was fabricated and labeled the sentence as "the murder of judicial independence." In his turn, Saiful Bukhari Azlan praised the decision of the court, stating in his Twitter account that he was happy that justice has been served for him.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International, as well as other human rights groups, has slammed the sentence, claiming that "sodomy" charges against Anwar Ibrahim have always been politically motivated. Malaysian human rights activists underscore that the young aide had met with the senior government officials before filing a complaint and express doubts regarding medical records and DNA probes of the plaintiff.

It is worth mentioning that it is not the first time when the opposition leader has faced a prison sentence for "sodomy." Previously the man was convicted of sodomizing his former family driver while being a deputy prime minister in 1998. Anwar was sentenced to six years in prison and was only freed in 2004 after the court overturned the conviction.

Some suggest that Anwar Ibrahim, a prominent opposition figure, poses a significant threat to the Malaysian ruling party led by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Others insist that the trial was not politically motivated and was solely focused on Saiful Bukhari Azlan's evidence.