As thousands of supporters cheered outside the court, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was found not guilty of sodomy charges by High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah, who said "the court cannot be 100 percent certain that DNA was not contaminated."

The prosecution is allowed to appeal a not-guilty verdict. Prior to the ruling, some observers in Kuala Lumpur suggested the government would do just that, which would keep Anwar tied up in legal matters for as long as another year through an expected election.

Under a scenario described to Asia Sentinel several weeks ago, the government, knowing a guilty verdict would make Anwar a martyr, would opt to have the judge rule him not guilty and appeal...