Former world leaders today urged the Malaysian government to release Anwar Ibrahim from jail unconditionally and immediately, in conjunction with his 68th birthday today.

The call was made, among others, by former Indonesian president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, former president of Turkey Abdullah Gul and former US vice-president Al Gore.

Also making the call with them in a joint statement released today are former Philippines president Joseph Estrada, former British prime minister Gordon Brown and Tunisian Ennahdah Movement leader Sheikh Rashid al-Ghannushi.

The group believed that Anwar's conviction and imprisonment are the outcome of an ongoing political conspiracy to end his political life and to deprive the opposition in Malaysia of its parliamentary leader.

"(We recall) that Anwar's unjust imprisonment on Feb 10, 2015, based on politically motivated charges, has been widely condemned internationally and Amnesty International has adopted Anwar Ibrahim as a prisoner of conscience," they said.

In a separate statement, a group of globally known activists, academicians and intellectuals declared their solidarity with Anwar and condemned the "politically motivated" charges against him.

Among the 38 signatories are Noam Chomsky (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Tariq Ramadan (Oxford University, photo ), John L Esposito (Georgetown University), Francis Fukuyama (Stanford University), Saad Eddin Ibrahim (Drew University), Slavoj ŽiŞek (University of London) and British author Karen Armstrong.

"The political machinations behind Anwar's conviction are clear as Malaysian citizens who dared to criticise the outcome have been investigated and/or charged under the country’s draconian Sedition Act.

"Many see Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction as the beginning of an intense crackdown on freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly in the country.

"The crackdown, which is ongoing, has even extended to the social media. Numerous police investigations have been triggered over social media postings that are perceived to be critical of the government," the statement by the group says.

The group went on to call on the authorities to release Anwar and uphold democracy in order for  Malaysia to continue touting itself as a democratic country.