UN expert sounds alarm over Imran Khan’s inhumane conditions of confinement in Pakistan
UN expert sounds alarm over Imran Khan’s inhumane conditions of confinement in Pakistan
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A United Nations expert has expressed concern over the detention conditions of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, warning they may amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
According to Jurist News, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, said on Friday that Pakistani authorities should take immediate action to address reports of inhumane and undignified conditions at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been held since September 2023.
Khan, 72, has been in detention since August 2023 and was sentenced in 2024 to 14 years in prison on charges including corruption and the sale of state secrets. According to information received by the rapporteur, he has been kept in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day, under constant camera surveillance, with severely restricted contact with the outside world.
Edwards said Khan is reportedly denied outdoor exercise, interaction with other detainees and participation in communal prayers, while visits by lawyers and family members are frequently curtailed. She added that he is held in a small cell with limited ventilation and sunlight, despite a history of serious medical conditions.
The rapporteur noted that prolonged solitary confinement is prohibited under international law and said she had raised the case with Pakistani authorities and would continue to monitor developments.
