The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, has called on the Islamabad government to end what she describes as inhumane treatment of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan in prison. At the same time his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is preparing nationwide marches demanding his release. The Independent reported the developments.
In a post on the social media platform X, Alice Jill Edwards said Imran Khan has spent the past 33 months in almost complete solitary confinement in a small, windowless cell under 24-hour CCTV surveillance.
She said that on many occasions he has been held for more than two weeks at a stretch without any opportunity for exercise or meaningful human contact.
Edwards said this is a clear violation of the United Nations’ Mandela Rules. “I call on the government of Pakistan to restore humane conditions of detention for him,” she said.
What are the Mandela Rules?
Under the United Nations’ Mandela Rules, or standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, holding a prisoner alone for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact is considered solitary confinement.
The rules also state that solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days is prohibited, because it may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
In a detailed statement on LinkedIn, Edwards said she is also concerned about reports that Imran Khan is being denied necessary medical care.
According to her, a spinal injury sustained in an accident in 2013 and wounds from a gunshot in an assassination attempt in November 2022 are not being properly treated.
Imran Khan’s UK-based international media adviser, Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, said the former prime minister has been kept in complete isolation for more than the past eight months and has not been allowed to meet anyone.
He said both Imran Khan and his wife are entitled to the right to a fair trial and to the basic rights of prisoners. Their situation is extremely worrying and critical, he said.
Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has been touring towns across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent days to build support for a march on Adiala jail on 5 August. PTI has announced the programme to mark the third anniversary of Imran Khan’s imprisonment.
The Punjab government has not, however, given permission for the march in Lahore. The party has since decided to seek permission through the courts. The organisers say the movement, beginning on 5 August, will continue until Imran Khan is released.
At an earlier rally Aleema Khan said that when sisters have to take to the streets for justice, it must be understood that the wrongdoers have crossed every limit. Her brother is being punished and subjected to mental torture because he took a stand for the country’s sovereignty and democracy, she said.
Since he was removed from office in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022, Imran Khan has faced a series of cases including allegations of corruption, leaking state secrets and terrorism-related offences.
He has denied all the allegations and maintains that they are politically motivated. His family and PTI have long alleged that his eyesight has deteriorated in prison, that he has even lost partial vision in one eye, and that he is not receiving adequate medical care.
The Pakistan government has denied the allegations, saying Imran Khan is not being mistreated in any way.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report