KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The government cannot interfere in the decisions of the courts, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said today following calls to free Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over a United Nations (UN) group’s finding that the leader’s detention had broken international law.

In a statement, the PMO pointed out that the final verdict in Anwar’s sodomy case was only reached after an exhaustive legal process that spanned many years.

“The Federal Court judges will have upheld the Court of Appeal’s guilty verdict only after considering all the evidence,” it said.

It also insisted that the Malaysian judiciary is independent, noting that some court decisions in the past were not favourable of senior government figures.

“And the government does not have the power or authority to overrule the decisions of the courts,” it added.

It reminded critics of Anwar’s detention that the leader’s sodomy case was a criminal and not a political matter, and that it reached the courts because of a complaint from the victim, Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

“Mr Anwar was convicted of a crime, and this was a criminal not a political case. It had nothing to do with the government.

“We call on all parties, including those overseas, to respect (the) legal process, the judgment of Malaysia’s courts and the rights of the victim to seek justice,” PMO added.

Earlier today, the federal opposition said Putrajaya was duty bound as a member of the UN to release Anwar unconditionally after the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the leader’s detention to be in violation of international law.

PKR’s Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said the UN group had unanimously ruled that the former opposition leader’s detention since February this year is illegal, after some two months of an in depth study of the case by experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.

Citing the working group’s findings, Nurul Izzah said it recommends Anwar’s immediate release and reinstatement of his political rights as an “adequate remedy”.

Anwar, a former finance minister and deputy prime minister, was jailed in February for five years for sodomising a former male aide.

He denies the charge, calling the case a conspiracy by Putrajaya to cripple the opposition and end his political career.