Three men who showed a sex video implicating Malaysia's opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim to journalists were convicted by a Malaysian court on Friday after all three pleaded guilty.
Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and Shuaib Lazim, both businessmen and the main suspects in the case, were found guilty of screening obscene video to the public, while Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik, a former state chief, was convicted of abetting the two in committing the crime.
Shazryl was fined 3,000 ringgit (980.39 U.S. dollars) in default and three months in prison, Shuaib was fined 1,500 ringgit (490.19 US dollars) in default and two months in prison, and Abdul Rahim was fined 1,000 ringgit (326.79 US dollars) in default and one month in prison.
More than 300 supporters gathered outside the court lobby to show solidarity with the convicted, who argued their cause was to prove Anwar morally unfit to become a leader.
The supporters turned rowdy as the three exited the court after they accepted the verdict.
"It is a mission accomplished today and we are very happy that we have proven to the people through the judicial system of the country," Abdul Rahim told reporters.
"Now it is up to the people to decide the destiny of the country," added Rahim, who himself faced prosecution for sexual assault on a minor years ago.
The trio exhibited a 20-minute video clip allegedly showing Malaysia's opposition leader having sex with an anonymous woman at a hotel to a group of journalists three months ago, ahead of a state election in the country's eastern Peninsular Sarawak.
Police who investigated the case told the court on Friday they had sought help from experts from an academic institution in the United States to verify the video clip, which was later found to be authentic.
Investigation also found the man featured in the video clip bore a striking resemblance to Anwar.
The trio demanded 62-year-old Anwar and his wife, the president of opposition party People's Justice Party to step down from their posts.
Anwar, who has been married for more than 30 years denied he was the man in the clip and condemned the act as a "scurrilous attack" against him.