Malaysia’s Court of Appeal sentenced opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Friday to five years in jail for sodomizing his former male aide, overturning his earlier acquittal by a lower court.

The ruling put Anwar’s political future on the line as he may have to relinquish all his political positions, including as a member of Parliament if he fails in his appeal to the Federal Court, the country’s highest court.

Anwar’s hope of running in a by-election for a state legislative seat slated this month is also dashed.

… Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told Kyodo News that Friday’s court ruling put paid to Anwar’s plan to run in a by-election, but he added it will bolster his party’s chance of winning.