Malaysian gov't rejects U.N. group call to free ex-opposition leader

The Malaysian government rejected a call by a United Nations group on Monday to free Anwar Ibrahim, a former opposition leader who was jailed for sodomy, saying the verdict was made by an independent judiciary system.

The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared in a response to the complaint by Anwar's lawyers and family that the verdict against him was "arbitrary detention", calling for his release and his political rights to be reinstated.

The 68-year-old Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, was jailed in February for five years after the Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict. He was convicted for sodomizing a male ex-aide.

Anwar and his supporters claimed that the case was politically motivated, an accusation denied by the government.

The prime minister's office said on Monday that the verdict was made by an independent judiciary and "had nothing to do with the government."

Anwar's family complained that his health had soon deteriorated after imprisonment, while the government insisted that Anwar was given adequate treatment.