Taiwan's former president Ma Ying-jeou was found not guilty in a political leaks case on Friday, a major legal victory for a politician facing a slew of lawsuits since leaving office.
Ma was cleared of charges of leaking secrets and instructing a top prosecutor to disclose confidential information about a 2013 judicial probe in a final verdict handed down by the High Court.
"The court ruled that relevant evidence provided by prosecutors failed to prove any crime committed by the defendant," a court spokeswoman told reporters, adding the decision was final.
Ma's Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party held power from 2008 to 2016, before it was trounced by Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
While still in office, Ma was protected by political immunity. But since leaving office, the 68-year-old has been hit with a string of corruption allegations.
Ma was not present when the verdict was announced. He had maintained his innocence throughout and accused the prosecution of mounting a flimsy case.
"He is grateful and relieved by the not-guilty verdict in the retrial," his office said in a statement.
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