A Malaysian court on Saturday convicted a writer, who penned a book that helped to bring down former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, for publishing false news. The official Bernama news agency said Khalid Jafri, who wrote "50 Reasons why Anwar cannot be Prime Minister", could be jailed for up to three years or fined 20,000 ringgit ($7,142) or both.
Judge Mohamad Saman Ramli set July 6 for sentencing, it said.
The book, published three months before he was sacked in September 1998 after challenging then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, accused Anwar of treason and sexual misconduct.
Freed last year after nearly six years in jail on what he called trumped up charges of corruption and sodomy, Anwar has dismissed Khalid's accusations as vicious lies. He sued Khalid and won his case earlier this year.