The Madrid Court of Appeal has upheld the contempt of court conviction and sentence of arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa in the Sulu claimants’ case against Malaysia.

In a statement today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said revealed that Malaysia was notified on May 17 of the appellate court’s decision to dismiss Stampa’s appeal and uphold his six-month prison sentence, and a one-year ban from practising as an arbitrator.