(CNN) Malaysia's new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Friday that the country's head of state had agreed to pardon jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim, whose case has dominated Malaysian politics for years. Anwar, once a leading light in the party that ruled Malaysia for decades, was jailed on sodomy charges in 2015, after a trial he says was politically motivated. Mahathir had promised, if elected, to free Anwar and eventually hand power over to him. At a news conference Friday, Mahathir said King Muhammad V had given his consent to a pardon. Anwar remains imprisoned since the 2015 sodomy trial -- the second time he'd been jailed for the offense.

Source: CNN May 11, 2018 10:29 UTC