Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former president who has been living outside the country, was sentenced to death in absentia Tuesday on charges of high treason stemming from his decision to suspend the constitution and detain judges in 2007.
Salman Nadeem, a government law officer, told Reuters that Musharraf was found guilty of Article 6 “for violation of the constitution of Pakistan.” The three-person court ruled in favor of the sentence 2-1.
Musharraf took power in a 1999 coup but was forced to step down in 2008. The charges have been in place since 2013 and he is currently in Dubai. The BBC reported that he was allowed to leave Pakistan for medical treatment.
The move to suspend the constitution in 2007 backfired and led to widespread protests by the country’s powerful legal community. Eventually, Musharraf was forced to step down and left the country soon after.
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After the sentence was announced, Pakistan’s Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan told reporters that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government would “review in detail” the verdict before commenting on it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
