The legal team for the former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, appealed his three-year prison sentence on Wednesday, kicking off a high-stakes and hotly contested legal fight that will determine Mr. Khan’s future and the country’s political climate as it heads into general elections later this year.
Mr. Khan was arrested and jailed on Saturday after being found guilty in a corruption case, the latest twist in a stunning downfall for the leader, who has been in a political showdown with the country’s powerful military since his ouster last year.
His allies argue that the court verdict, which found him guilty of hiding assets after illegally selling state gifts, was little more than a politically motivated effort to sideline him.
And for many Pakistanis, the spectacle of Mr. Khan’s imprisonment offered a striking reminder that the country’s military remains the ultimate and unmoving force behind Pakistan’s politics.
In the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday, his legal team argued that the conviction represented a violation of Mr. Khan’s “fundamental right to due process and fair trial” and said it was decided by a biased judge determined to convict him “irrespective of the merits of the case,” according to court documents.
Persons:
Imran Khan, Khan’s, Khan
Organizations:
Court
Locations:
Pakistan, Islamabad