8 January 2012
Last updated at 21:15 ET
Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the court for the verdict in the keenly-watched case
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomy after a two-year trial.
The ruling came as hundreds of Mr Anwar’s supporters waited outside the court in Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Anwar, 64, has consistently denied the charges and called them a government bid to cripple his political ambitions and influence.
He was jailed for sodomy in 1999 but the conviction was overturned. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Mr Anwar had been accused of having sex with a former male aide. He had faced up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
But the judge ruled that the DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable.
“The court is always reluctant to convict on sexual offences without corroborative evidence. Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged,” Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah said.
Mr Anwar welcomed the verdict.
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