Malaysian Oppostition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has been sentenced to five years jail after a court overturned a previous acquittal for sodomy charges.
The ruling has been declared politically motivated as it will prevent the opposition leader running for office in the Selangor State Assembly later this month.
Ibrahim who is the former Deputy Prime Minister was first charged with sodomy offenses that accused him of having sex with a male aide in 2008. In 2012 the charges were overturned.
The politician is not heading straight to jail as his lawyers won a stay on his sentences being carried out. However if he does serve a jail term he would be barred from running in the next Malaysian federal election in 2018.
Malaysian laws allow for up to 20 years in prison for homosexuality, although the law is rarely enforced. The New York based group Human Rights Watch has labeled the trial politically motivated.
