Asia-Pacific News
Thousands gather at Malaysian court compound ahead of Anwar verdict
Jan 9, 2012, 0:29 GMT
Kuala Lumpur - Thousands of people supporting top opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday gathered outside a courthouse in the Malaysian capital, hours before the court hands down its verdict on his sodomy case.
Police have set-up roadblocks around the complex and bomb squads have been dispatched in key areas to ensure that no untoward incident occurs during the event.
The 64-year-old Anwar was charged in 2008 with sodomizing a former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in a posh condominium in a suburb in Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar's supporters believed the charge was fabricated by the government to stifle the opposition's efforts to wrest power from the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (National Front) which controlled the country since its independence in the 1950s.
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