The release of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's former deputy prime minister who had been jailed for almost six years, marked an important step to restoring judiciary independence in the country, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said.

Anwar was freed on September 2 after the top court in Malaysia quashed a sodomy conviction against him. But he is still barred from politics for another four years as the same Federal Court upheld his corruption conviction in a separate decision later.

"The bold judgment of the highest court of Malaysia made on September 2, 2004 is a watershed decision, redeeming the global impression of subjugated judicial independence in Malaysia," said the AHRC in a statement issued after Anwar's release.

"It must not be forgotten that Anwar should not have been charged at all. And that the whole affair of bringing him to court was a political machination. Perhaps the first lesson that should be driven into the political and legal structure of the country is that such cases, fabricated for political reasons, should never be brought to court again," the statement said.

Anwar, 57, has insisted that the corruption and sodomy charges were part of a political conspiracy against him. Once seen as a political heir of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar was sacked by Mahathir in 1998 during a power struggle amid the Asian financial crisis. He was arrested in September that year after leading huge anti-Mahathir protests.

Anwar's call for reforms and an end to corruption and cronyism was well known both within and outside the country. Many people in Malaysia and human rights groups, including the AHRC, throughout the world had campaigned for his freedom since then.

The prominent politician was only one of the many people in the country who had been jailed due to politically manoeuvred charges, as cases in recent decades showed that such charges could be framed and brought up easily in Malaysian courts. "The infamous Internal Security Act allows for such possibilities without allowing for legal redress," the AHRC cited.

"The period of Mahathir Mohamad's rule was marred by a colossal attack on the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia. This period would have been traumatic to fair-minded lawyers, judges and all freedom-minded individuals in the country.

"Coming shortly after the welcome departure of Mahathir from political power in Malaysia, the judgment freeing Anwar will be a relief to all such persons. It could also provide an opportunity to revisit the past and to energise a movement to review and undo the damage done during the last decades to the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia," the AHRC said. Mahathir retired from Malaysia's leadership in October last year after 22 years in power. He was succeeded by Abdullah Ahmad Badawai.

The AHRC also praised those Malaysians including political activists and Anwar's lawyers for putting up an "undaunted struggle" in resisting suppression and fighting for the freedom of the ousted deputy prime minister.

"This proves that public opinion and the independence of the judiciary remain the main pillars on which the protection and promotion of human rights rests and that these can win against even the most draconian laws, extreme political manipulations and shameless subjugation of some sections of the judiciary itself," the AHRC said.