'Acid-laced food, solitary confinement': Imran Khan's sons, Bushra Bibi's sister appeal to UN over 'torture' in Pakistan jails
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Acid-laced food, solitary confinement': Imran Khan's sons, Bushra Bibi's sister appeal to UN over 'torture' in Pakistan jails")
File Photo: Former Pak PM Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi Photograph: (AFP)
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have filed urgent appeals with the UN, accusing Pakistani authorities of torture and inhumane treatment in prison. The appeals, submitted by the couple's family and legal team, claim extensive torture. All details here.
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi's legal team have filed urgent appeals with the United Nations, accusing Pakistani authorities of subjecting the couple to torture and inhuman treatment in prison. The appeals were submitted to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Dr Alice J Edwards by Iman Khan's sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, and by Bushra Bibi's sister, revealed PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari on X.
Khan has been jailed since August 2023 in a £190 million corruption case. He is also facing terrorism-related charges over the May 9 protests. Bushra Bibi was sentenced earlier this year to seven years in prison in what the couple's lawyers say are politically motivated cases.
Imran Khan tortured in jail?
On X, Bukhari said two appeals were filed on Imran Khan's behalf and one was filed on Bushra Bibi's behalf. A statement from US-based law firm Perseus Strategies said the filings request an investigation into their cases and to "press the Pakistani government to cease any further torture or ill-treatment of Mr and Mrs Khan immediately".
They detail "a pattern of severe abuses in detention, including prolonged solitary confinement, physical abuse, denial of medical care, contaminated food and the persistent denial of access to legal counsel and family that together amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
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The firm argued that the treatment violates Pakistan's obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The firm then urged "the special rapporteur to act swiftly to protect the physical and mental integrity of Mr and Mrs Khan."
It also cited a previous UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruling that Khan’s imprisonment was arbitrary, politically motivated and in violation of international law.
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Isolated in insect-infected cells
According to the legal team, Khan is confined in Adiala Jail in "a tiny isolation cell with no natural light, an open toilet under 24-hour CCTV surveillance, and has endured severe sleep deprivation, extreme heat due to power cuts, grossly inadequate food and water, and other harsh conditions." They claim that Khan "is also held at times in solitary confinement for 22 hours or more a day with no access to exercise or meaningful human contact."
Bushra Bibi, they said, has been "subjected to conditions of detention that amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including being served food contaminated with hydrochloric acid, confinement in unsanitary and insect-infested cells," and has been denied medical care and like Imran Khan has been subjected to long periods of isolation.
"Her imprisonment is part of a campaign to break both her and her husband, and to apply psychological pressure on Imran Khan by targeting his wife," they alleged. The press release then cites Jared Genser, international counsel to the couple," saying that neither of them should be in prison in the first place, "let alone be subjected to torture and ill treatment."
"The UN and governments worldwide must act now to protect their rights and secure their release."
The firm said Amnesty International has already raised alarm about Khan's health, while the US State Department has stressed his safety must be ensured in custody.
