On January 19, 2010, an appeals court in Malaysia ruled that the country's ban on sodomy does not violate the Malaysian Constitution [PDF], which prohibits discrimination. The case arose from the prosecution of Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahaman, convicted of sodomizing a 14-year-old boy and sentenced to 60 years in prison. The ruling had major national implications because Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was also facing charges of sodomy at the time. Two years after the constitutional ruling, the Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted Anwar of the charges, which he claimed were politically motivated, because of unreliable DNA evidence.

Flag of Malaysia

Learn more about the laws governing sodomy and discrimination from the JURIST news archive.

Also on This Day at Law:


DOJ defended legality of NSA warrantless wiretaps
ICJ ruled US violated court order by executing Mexican national