Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko has been sentenced to 15 days in prison for a sedition case from 2009. Vaiko, who refused to seek bail in the case, was accused of making a speech in favour of Sri Lankan militant group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Vaiko surrendered before a Metropolitan court in Chennai on Monday. He has been lodged at Puzhal Central Prison, PTI reported. The case was filed against him by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam at the time. It relates to an allegedly “seditious” speech he had made at his book launch in Chennai in 2009, The Times of India reported. The book, Naan Kutram Sattugiren (“I Accuse You”), is a compilation of letters Vaiko had written to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The MDMK leader refused bail in order to put pressure on authorities to begin a trial in the eight year old case, according to The Times of India.

Vaiko in the past had made several speeches that appeared to support the LTTE, which had conducted numerous suicide attacks to demand for a separate Tamil Eelam state in Sri Lanka. He was the first Member of Parliament to be detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for supporting the LTTE. He had spent 18 months in prison from 2002 until 2004.