Following international criticism over previously reported convictions, Pakistan’s military courts condemned 60 additional civilians for participating in pro-Imran Khan protests last year, the armed forces stated Thursday.
After being removed from office and launching an extraordinary campaign of resistance against the country’s powerful military authorities, former prime minister Khan was jailed in May of last year.
Nationwide uproar was triggered by his incarceration on bribery charges, with some people attacking military posts.
The military, which has had direct control over Pakistan for decades and continues to have significant sway, announced last summer that it will try the defendants in court martials that are closed to the public.
The process was largely opaque until Saturday, when the military announced the first 25 convictions — prompting condemnation from the United States, European Union and United Kingdom.
“These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The military declared that the court martials were now over and announced 60 additional convictions on Thursday.
Each of the 85 guys received a sentence of “rigorous imprisonment” ranging from two to ten years. The military just listed the location of their offenses without providing specific details about their convictions.
“The Nation, Government, and the Armed Forces remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state is maintained,” a military statement said.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said his nephew was among the men whose convictions were announced on Thursday, and that he was sentenced to a decade in prison.
“Conducting trials in military courts has undermined the fundamental rights of citizens,” Khan said, according to a summary of a conversation he had with lawyers and press inside jail, released on X.
*
Email *
Website
