Sodomy II: Anwar sentenced to five years

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been sentenced to five years' jail for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, seven years ago.

The Federal Court which upheld the Court of Appeal's sentence, had earlier convicted Anwar for sodomising Mohd Saiful.

The Federal Court's five-member panel was led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria.

“The court dismissed both appeals and affirms sentence of five years,” Arifin told the courtroom.

(Chronology of Sodomy II case)

Anwar is represented by a team of 15 lawyers led by Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge himself.

The other 14 lawyers are Ramkarpal Singh Deo, Gobind Singh Deo, Sangeet Kaur Deo, N.Surendran, R.Sivarasa, J.Leela, Latheefa Koya, Lim Choon Khim, Eric Paulsen, Michelle Yesudas, Shahid Adli Kamaruddin, Zaleha Al-Hayat, Jeremy Vinesh Anthony and Mohamed Aliff Bolkin.

A senior lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, is leading the prosecution team in the appeal. He is assisted by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria.

Meanwhile, Mohd Saiful Bukhari expressed relief over the court's decision, saying he and his family can finally move on.