Anwar’s Supporters Gather for Verdict

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —  About 300 supporters of sacked finance minister Anwar Ibrahim shouted anti-government slogans today as he arrived at a capital courthouse to hear the verdict in his landmark trial.

Anwar, who has been in detention since his arrest in September, arrived at the High Court at 8:30 a.m. in a police jeep.

Supporters across a small river from the courthouse shouted “Reform!”--the rallying cry of anti-government groups aligned with Anwar--as he entered the courthouse. The crowd later dispersed when paramilitary troopers moved in.

Anwar has pleaded not guilty to four corruption charges, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The former prime-minister-in-waiting has said he expects Judge Augustine Paul to sentence him to between two and four years in prison.

The court session was set to convene at 9 a.m., and the verdict was expected later in the morning.

One of his lawyers put up a brave face today. “We hope for an acquittal. We expect an acquittal. Of course the final decision is with the judge,” defense lawyer Gurbachan Singh told reporters outside the courthouse.

Authorities fear a conviction could trigger fresh protests by Anwar’s supporters, who took to the streets after his arrest in September in an unprecedented challenge to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s 18-year rule.

Dozens of paramilitary troopers and riot police encircled the Moorish-style courthouse in the heart of the capital.

About a dozen police patrolled a mosque across the river from the courthouse where protesters gathered Tuesday night, defying a police warning.

Police pushed news photographers and camera operators, some stationed for hours in hopes of getting a shot of Anwar, away from one entrance to the court before the former minister arrived.

A photographer for a foreign news agency was detained by police when he refused to move.

On Tuesday evening, about 300 Anwar supporters shouting anti-government slogans defied a police warning and gathered outside the mosque near the courthouse.

Paramilitary troopers wielding batons broke up the demonstration after protesters, mainly students, refused to disperse. At least two people were detained. There were no reports of injuries.

The prosecution in Anwar’s trial alleged that he abused his power in 1997 as then-deputy prime minister and finance minister by directing police to obtain retractions from two people who accused him of sex crimes.

Anwar says the charges are part of political plot against him.