Detention of Imran Khan violates international law - UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairman of PTI, Imran Khan, has been unlawfully incarcerated for over 300 days under inhuman conditions at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership and people of Pakistan have been raising their voice against the unlawful incarceration of Imran Khan and other PTI leaders and supporters, especially since May 9^th, 2023, when Imran Khan was first abducted from the court premises by paramilitary troops after he had voluntarily presented himself in front of a magistrate. He was dragged, manhandled by security personnel, and taken into custody by the National Accountability Bureau, an arrest deemed illegal by the Supreme Court of Pakistan the very next day.

On August 5, 2023, Imran Khan was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on trumped-up charges in the false Toshakhana case. The hearing was conducted behind closed doors without media presence, denying him the opportunity to defend himself. Approximately half an hour after the court rendered its decision, Imran Khan was arrested at his home in Lahore. Law enforcement personnel reportedly broke into the residence and assaulted several staff members. Mr. Khan was not informed of the reason for his arrest nor shown any arrest warrant. He was assaulted, thrown into a car, and transported to Attock Jail, despite the court having ordered that he be taken to Adiala Jail.

On August 28, 2023, the Islamabad High Court suspended Mr. Khan’s sentence and ordered his release on bail pending the consideration of his appeal. However, instead of being released, he was kept in detention in connection with another case, the so-called cipher case, involving Imran Khan’s alleged wrongful sharing and retention of a classified document.

This move aimed to exclude Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from the 2024 election race.

Khan has since been acquitted or granted bail on many of the most serious charges, all of which are politically motivated. The latest of these was the more serious cipher case, where Khan was acquitted of exposing state secrets for publicly revealing a diplomatic cable. That ruling left only one charge keeping him in prison: a February ruling that his marriage to Bibi in 2018 was un-Islamic and illegal, which is the weakest of all the cases brought against him.

Unbiased scrutiny by a neutral legal authority will likely reveal that all these cases are baseless and frivolous, as they were built upon concocted, fabricated, and false evidence. Many of these trials were not conducted in an open court but rather within jail premises, which were unlawfully designated as courts by the administration. No external media or personnel were permitted to cover the court proceedings, and the hearings were shrouded in secrecy. The shocking details of all the major fake cases against Imran Khan can be found here.

The people of Pakistan have been raising their voices and reaching out to international organizations, highlighting the human rights violations in Pakistan and demanding the immediate release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and other unlawfully incarcerated political prisoners. On Monday, July 1, 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion on Imran Khan’s unlawful incarceration stating that Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's detention is arbitrary and in violation of international law, adding that Imran Khan should be released immediately.

The Geneva-based U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said, "appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law."

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted significant timing coincidences in Imran Khan's prosecutions, which effectively prevented him from contesting the originally scheduled November 2023 general election. They found that his arrests and prosecutions in the Toshakhana and cipher cases lacked legal basis and appeared politically motivated to exclude him from the election. The group also criticized Imran's conviction in the first Toshakhana case, which was delivered in absentia, and highlighted concerns over his subsequent arrest, where law enforcement personnel broke into his residence and assaulted him and his staff, compounding the illegality.

Excerpts from the report highlight how Imran Khan has been denied his right to a fair trial, with all his basic rights stripped away to keep him incarcerated and prevent his participation in the 2024 elections.

Legal Analysis

Many of Mr. Khan's fair trial rights have reportedly been violated by the Special Court. The source recalls that fair trial rights under article 14 of the Covenant and under domestic law should be upheld in every case. The source highlights the following alleged violations of article 14 of the Covenant:

A violation of article 14 (1) of the Covenant, as the interim Government created a special court by appointment of the Ministry of Justice and bypassed the legal procedure and oversight that a complaint filed with a court would have provided to Mr. Khan, in breach of article 13 (3) of the Official Secrets Act;
A violation of article 14 (2) of the Covenant, as, during the secret hearings, Mr. Khan was detained in a cage.
A violation of article 14 (3) (b) of the Covenant, as only two lawyers were allowed to attend each hearing. They were not provided with relevant documents in advance of each hearing and were not allowed paper or writing implements to take notes. They were prohibited from discussing any details of the hearings with Mr. Khan's other lawyers, which made it impossible for international counsel to learn about those in camera proceedings.
A violation of article 14 (3) (d) of the Covenant, as, by limiting the number of defence lawyers in each hearing, the authorities denied Mr. Khan the right to defend himself through legal assistance of his own choosing.
A violation of article 14 (3) (e) of the Covenant, as, in June 2023, a close colleague of Mr. Khan was arrested and disappeared for a month. A disappearance report was filed with the Islamabad Police. While in detention, Mr. Khan's colleague issued a recorded statement, reportedly given under duress, stating that Mr. Khan had informed him that he would publicly display the document in question. The prosecution is expected to play the pre-recorded statement of Mr. Khan's colleague but will refuse to allow Mr. Khan's counsel to cross-examine him as a witness.

Disposition

In the light of the foregoing, the Working Group renders the following opinion: The deprivation of liberty of Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, being in contravention of articles 3, 9, 10, 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9, 10, 14, 19, 22 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is arbitrary and falls within categories I, II and III.
The Working Group requests the Government of Pakistan to take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Mr. Khan without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Working Group considers that, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.
The Working Group urges the Government to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Khan and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.
The Working Group requests the Government to bring its laws into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by Pakistan under international human rights law.
In accordance with paragraph 33 (a) of its methods of work, the Working Group refers the present case to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, for appropriate action.
The Working Group requests the Government to disseminate the present opinion through all available means and as widely as possible.

Concluding its opinion, the working group said that Imran’s deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and requested the government to take the steps necessary to remedy the PTI founder’s situation without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms.

Follow-up procedure

104. In accordance with paragraph 20 of its methods of work, the Working Group requests the source and the Government to provide it with information on action taken in follow-up to the recommendations made in the present opinion, including

Whether Mr. Khan has been released and, if so, on what date.
Whether compensation or other reparations have been made to Mr. Khan.
Whether an investigation has been conducted into the violation of Mr. Khan’s rights and, if so, the outcome of the investigation.
Whether any legislative amendments or changes in practice have been made to harmonize the laws and practices of Pakistan with its international obligations in line with the present opinion.
Whether any other action has been taken to implement the present opinion.