The United States has reaffirmed its view that jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim is a political prisoner, despite suggestions of a shift in position as it seeks allies in the war on terrorism.

"Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is a political prisoner because he was charged, tried and convicted in a legal process that was politically motivated and patently unfair," the US State Department said in its annual survey of human rights around the world.

In January, the US-based Human Rights Watch said the US administration "shifted its position on Malaysia" in the wake of the Sept 11 terror attacks, apparently dropping human rights conditions for a meeting between Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and President George W Bush.

The dropped conditions reportedly concerned progress in Anwar's case and in the treatment of political dissidents, Human Rights Watch said.

Bush and Mahathir met on the sidelines of a regional summit in Shanghai in late October, and Malaysia has since won praise from the US for its support in the fight against terrorism.

Anwar was sacked and detained in September 1998 and is appealing against prison sentences of a total of 15 years for corruption and sodomy.

Critics say the charges were trumped up to prevent a political challenge to Mahathir, who has been in power for 20 years. The government denies this.

Necessary tool

The State Department report, released yesterday, also described five supporters of the Anwar-based Keadilan, who have been held without trial since last April, as "political detainees".

The report acknowledges that since September Mahathir's government has stepped up its defence of indefinite detention without trial under the Internal Security Act, saying it was a necessary tool in combatting terrorism.

Some of the dozens of people detained under the act last year and early this year are said by the authorities to be Afghan-trained Islamic militants planning the violent overthrow of the government.

In an overview, the State Department report says that the government "generally respected its citizen's rights in some areas; however its record was poor in a number of other areas and significant problems remain.'

These problems included limits on political and press freedoms and the fact that "police on occasion tortured, beat or otherwise abused prisoners, detainees and demonstrators", the report said. (AFP)