The conviction of the former Malaysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of having sodomised his family's chauffeur has been greeted around the world with dismay, but little surprise. For it is true, as Mr Anwar said in a handwritten statement read to the judge after the verdict, that "your judgment today was a mere formality according to the pre-ordained script of the conspirators".

The trial must go down as one of the great show trials of recent history. Judge Arifin, who acted as jury too, was unexpectedly assigned to the case in place of another, highly respected judge, and managed to find the charges proved in the face of the most bizarre and contradictory evidence: first the prosecution said the alleged indecent assault had taken place in 1994; when an alibi was produced for that date, they said it occurred in 1992; when it was pointed out the block of flats in which the crime was allegedly committed had not been built in 1992, the date was changed again. Prosecution witnesses said they had been beaten and coerced into giving evidence. The alleged victim told the court he had been coached by the police. The judge himself noted the chauffeur "says one thing today and another thing tomorrow".

Mr Anwar's real crime, in fact, was to question the corruption and cronyism of the Mahathir regime and to campaign for democracy and clean government. It was to disagree with his authoritarian former mentor about how to manage the country's economy and to seek to make Malaysia a modern, outward-looking nation. In revenge, Dr Mahathir has sought to disgrace and humiliate Mr Anwar by charging him with an act that is abhorrent in the eyes of the orthodox Muslim population. His nine-year sentence, on top of a six-year sentence handed down for alleged corruption last year, means - in the unlikely event of a successful appeal - that he may be out of the political running until 2014.

Dr Mahathir has made a career of thumbing his nose at world opinion, but the question is whether the majority of the Malaysian population shares his disregard. For Mr Anwar's supporters, international outrage may be a vital source of support. Human-rights groups have recognised that the trial was politically motivated and that Mr Anwar is a prisoner of conscience. The United States has expressed "distress and outrage" and the European Union is preparing a statement of condemnation.

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday raised doubts about the independence of the Malaysian judiciary and said it was a matter of very great concern. The fact is that no properly constituted court could have found Mr Anwar guilty on the evidence before it. The real disgrace of this prosecution is to the Mahathir Government and the once-respected Malaysian judicial system. As a friend of Malaysia, Mr Howard was right to raise his concerns about the way Mr Anwar has been treated.