Lawyer for Imran Khan claims he denied a court hearing due to a life threat

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was not hauled to court for a trial on Monday because the government claimed there were threats to his life, his lawyer said.

Last week, the Islamabad High Court ruled that holding Khan’s trial inside jail premises due to security concerns was unlawful, and ordered that it be conducted in an open court.

He has been accused of leaking state secrets, which he denies.

Since his ouster as Prime Minister, the former cricket has been involved in a tangle of political and judicial challenges. He has not been seen in public since he was sentenced to three years in prison in August for illegally selling state goods from 2018 to 2022.

Naeem Panjutha, the lawyer, tweeted, “Jail reports have been submitted citing that Imran Khan has life threats according to various intelligence and police reports”, through his official ‘X’ handle.

Since Khan was indicted on the allegations last month, the trial has been conducted in prison by a special court.

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