ISLAMABAD: Incarcerated former premier Imran Khan has claimed he is being “caged like a terrorist”, and is being “denied basic prisoner and human rights”, British publication The Sunday Times reported.
His remarks came during a rare interview from behind bars with the outlet, conducted via his lawyers, as — according to the article — he is not allowed pencil and paper.
Imran, 71, has been imprisoned at the Adiala Jail for almost a year upon his conviction in three cases — the Toshakhana reference, the cipher case, and the Iddat case, in which his wife, BushraBibi, is also jailed.
Imran’s sentence in the Toshakhana reference was suspended on April 1 while he was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the cipher case in June. Various courts have also acquitted him in several other cases filed against him since the events of May 9, 2023 — the day when his first arrest had caused riots across the country, following which the state launched a crackdown against him and his party.
An Islamabad district and sessions court had also recently accepted the appeals filed by Imran and his spouse against their conviction in the Iddat case. Shortly after the court acquitted him in the said case, however, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) re-arrested Imran and his spouse in a new Toshakhana case, leaving his possible release from prison hanging in the balance.
“I am confined in a 7ft by 8ft death cell, typically reserved for terrorists to ensure they have no contact with anyone,” he told The Sunday Times.
“It is solitary confinement with barely any space to move. I am under constant surveillance by the agencies, being recorded 24/7, and I am denied basic prisoner and human rights such as visitation,” he said.
Earlier this month, a United Nations working group on human rights said the cases against Imran were “without legal basis” and politically motivated to exclude him from the political arena. The group also demanded the former cricketer be released and compensated.
Imran and his wife sought relief from high courts after their latest round of arrests and remand approvals. He was, however, denied bail by the Lahore High Court for allegedly inciting his supporters in the May 9 riots last year.
To further tighten the noose around Imran, the government said earlier this week it would impose a ban on his party, PTI.
