Anwar Ibrahim's appeal allowed and he is freed

The Federal Court Thursday freed former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from prison.

The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the Federal Court also overturned the sodomy conviction and sentence of his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja.

Federal Court judge Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad sat with another Federal Court judge, Justice Rahmah Hussain, and Court of Appeal judge Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud. They had reserved their judgment on May 20.

On April 18 2003, the Court of Appeal had dismissed Anwar and Sukma appeal against a High Court decision on Aug 8, 2000, which convicted them of sodomising Anwar former family driver Azizan Abu Bakar in 1993.