Malaysia's top court has reportedly upheld the conviction of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and the five years' imprisonment handed down to him in March 2014 for sodomy, post turning down his appeal.
He will go to prison immediately. It will be Ibrahim's second spell in jail on charges that he said were "politically motivated," reported the BBC.
Ibrahim claimed "innocence" in court and alleged that it was a "fabrication coming from a political conspiracy" to impede his political career. He also accused the judges of being "partners in crime in the murder of judicial independence," prompting them to get up and walk out of the room.
He is widely regarded as the only man who can break the governing coalition's dominance, the report said.
Ibrahim later said on Twitter that he would not be silenced.
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His daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, a politician, said that the opposition was due to hold a meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss "the next course of action."
Ibrahim has been accused of sodomizing a male political aide in 2008. Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia, though very few people are ever prosecuted.
He was allowed to walk free by a High Court in 2012 due to lack of evidence. However, his acquittal was overturned following an appeal filed by the government.
The opposition leader was earlier sentenced to six years in prison for sodomy and corruption after being removed from the post of deputy prime minister in 1998.
He was freed in 2004 and led his three-party alliance to "unprecedented gains" in the 2008 and 2013 elections.
