The Prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim: The Final Play

Book excerpt: On 9 January 2012, after a lengthy two-year trial, Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of charges of sodomy against his 23-year-old aide, Mohd Saiful. The acquittal was a shock not only to Anwar – who expected to go to jail – but to most international observers who were convinced he would be found guilty. This book recounts both the first sodomy episode (1998-2004) and the Sodomy II trial (2008–2012). It then takes up the story after the acquittal, describing the events that led to the Malaysian Court of Appeal overturning the ruling in March 2014 – convicting Anwar of the charge and sentencing him to five years’ imprisonment – the final appeal against the conviction in the Federal Court of Malaysia In October 2014, and the guilty verdict that was finally delivered on 10 February 2015. Anwar is now in prison serving a five-year sentence. The 2014 conviction ruled him out of contesting a by-election for the parliamentary state seat of Kajang and plans to become the chief minister of Selangor. At the same time his lawyer, Karpal Singh, was convicted of sedition, which disqualified him from parliament. Together, these events were seen as an attack on the key leaders of the opposition parties