Malaysian police arrested opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday on suspicion that he sodomized a male aide, pre-empting his voluntary appearance at the police headquarters to answer to the allegation.

The sodomy accusation was made in a police complaint by the 23-year-old male aide last month, reports the Associated Press.

Anwar has denied the allegation, calling it a political conspiracy by the government to snuff out his campaign to bring the opposition to power by September.

The arrest was likely to exacerbate the political divisions and tensions that have been running high in Malaysia since the opposition made unprecedented gains in the March general elections to whittle away the ruling coalition's strength in Parliament.

'Sodomy', even between consenting adults, is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail under Malaysian law.

This story continues on the link below.