Sankara Nair said police recorded his client's statement about the sex assault allegation and then released him, Bernama reported. Anwar left police headquarters by the back gate in a black 4-wheel-drive vehicle and waved at media representatives pursuing him, the Malaysian national news agency said.

Anwar was stopped by officers near his Kuala Lumpur home and taken to police headquarters, the Voice of America reported. His supporters call it a political ploy by the Malaysian government to derail efforts by opposition parties to topple the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Tian Chua, spokesman for the People's Justice Party, labeled Anwar's arrest "strong-arm tactics" that indicate increasing political instability in Malaysia.

"I think it's a prelude to a mass crackdown," he told VOA. "Well, I expect they will use this case as a beginning of trying to destroy the democratic movement."

A 23-year-old one-time aide, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, accused Anwar late last month of forcibly sodomizing him at a Kuala Lumpur apartment. Anwar has called the charges a "transparent ploy" to deflect his political opposition, and has sued Mohamad Saiful for allegedly making a false report.