Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death for high treason

Helen Regan
By Helen Regan and Adeel Raja, CNN
Updated 4:01 PM EST, Tue December 17, 2019
DUBAI, UAE - MARCH 24: Former Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf salutes as he arrives to brief media and supporters during a press conference ahead of his return, at the Dubai APML party headquarters on March 24, 2013 in Dubai United Arab Emirates. The former Pakistani president and military ruler is returning to Pakistan after 4 years of self-imposed exile to participate in historic elections in May. Mr Musharraf has been granted protective bail in several cases, including conspiracy to murder which has paved his way allowing for his return. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
PHOTO: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
DUBAI, UAE - MARCH 24: Former Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf salutes as he arrives to brief media and supporters during a press conference ahead of his return, at the Dubai APML party headquarters on March 24, 2013 in Dubai United Arab Emirates. The former Pakistani president and military ruler is returning to Pakistan after 4 years of self-imposed exile to participate in historic elections in May. Mr Musharraf has been granted protective bail in several cases, including conspiracy to murder which has paved his way allowing for his return. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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(CNN) —  

Former Pakistan President and military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been sentenced to death in absentia for high treason following a six-year legal case.

A three-member special court in Islamabad on Tuesday convicted Musharraf of violating the constitution by unlawfully declaring emergency rule while he was in power, in a case that had been pending since 2013.

The 76-year-old former leader, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for more than three years, has the option to appeal the verdict.

Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 and ruled Pakistan as President until 2008.

He was indicted in 2014 on a total of five charges, including three counts of subverting, suspending and changing the country’s constitution, firing Pakistan’s chief justice, and imposing emergency rule.

It’s the first time in Pakistan’s history that an army chief has been tried and found guilty of treason. Under Pakistan’s constitution, high treason is a crime that carries the death penalty or life imprisonment.

The special court ruled on the death sentence by a two to one majority, with one of the three judges not backing the death sentence but agreeing on a conviction.

Musharraf has been living in Dubai since 2016 after Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifted a travel ban allowing him to leave the country to seek medical treatment. From his hospital bed in Dubai earlier this month, the former leader said in a video statement that he was innocent and the treason case was “baseless.”

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf speaks in London in 2010. Musharraf led Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, when he resigned and went into exile after being charged of violating the country's constitution in 2007. He returned in 2013, intending to run in national elections, but soon found himself entangled in legal trouble again.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf speaks in London in 2010. Musharraf led Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, when he resigned and went into exile after being charged of violating the country's constitution in 2007. He returned in 2013, intending to run in national elections, but soon found himself entangled in legal trouble again.
Musharraf, left, takes the presidential oath of office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 20, 2001. Musharraf appointed himself president after leading a successful coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. He would also remain head of the army.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf, left, takes the presidential oath of office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 20, 2001. Musharraf appointed himself president after leading a successful coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. He would also remain head of the army.
Musharraf shakes hands with military officials in 2001.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: stringer/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf shakes hands with military officials in 2001.
Musharraf speaks in 2002 at an event in Washington hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: SHAWN THEW/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf speaks in 2002 at an event in Washington hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Musharraf sits with his wife, Begum Sehba, at their residence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 2002.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf sits with his wife, Begum Sehba, at their residence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 2002.
Former French President Jacques Chirac speaks with Musharraf at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2003.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Former French President Jacques Chirac speaks with Musharraf at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2003.
Musharraf salutes before his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf salutes before his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.
Musharraf, then-U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai stand in the Rose Garden of the White House as Bush delivers remarks in 2006.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf, then-U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai stand in the Rose Garden of the White House as Bush delivers remarks in 2006.
Musharraf speaks to the press in November 2007, days after he declared a state of emergency in the country. Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, imposed restrictions on the press and postponed the January 2008 elections. He said he did so to stabilize the country and to fight rising Islamist extremism. His action drew sharp criticism from democracy advocates, and Pakistanis openly called for his ouster.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf speaks to the press in November 2007, days after he declared a state of emergency in the country. Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, imposed restrictions on the press and postponed the January 2008 elections. He said he did so to stabilize the country and to fight rising Islamist extremism. His action drew sharp criticism from democracy advocates, and Pakistanis openly called for his ouster.
Musharraf speaks at a change-of-command ceremony in Rawalpindi on November 28, 2007. Musharraf stepped down as leader of Pakistan's army a day before he was to be sworn in as president for the third time.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: John Moore/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf speaks at a change-of-command ceremony in Rawalpindi on November 28, 2007. Musharraf stepped down as leader of Pakistan's army a day before he was to be sworn in as president for the third time.
Men in Quetta, Pakistan, watch as Musharraf announces his resignation as president on August 18, 2008. A month earlier, the Pakistan Supreme Court issued notice that Musharraf would have to defend himself on charges of violating the constitution by declaring emergency rule in November 2007.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: BANARAS KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Men in Quetta, Pakistan, watch as Musharraf announces his resignation as president on August 18, 2008. A month earlier, the Pakistan Supreme Court issued notice that Musharraf would have to defend himself on charges of violating the constitution by declaring emergency rule in November 2007.
Musharraf salutes as he arrives at a news conference in London in 2010. Musharraf fled to the United Kingdom instead of facing the charges against him in Pakistan.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf salutes as he arrives at a news conference in London in 2010. Musharraf fled to the United Kingdom instead of facing the charges against him in Pakistan.
Musharraf greets supporters outside the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 24, 2013. With three court cases pending against him, Musharraf returned to Pakistan after four years of exile. He was granted bail in advance of his arrival, so he was not arrested.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf greets supporters outside the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 24, 2013. With three court cases pending against him, Musharraf returned to Pakistan after four years of exile. He was granted bail in advance of his arrival, so he was not arrested.
Musharraf is escorted by soldiers as he arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on April 20, 2013. A Pakistani court rejected Musharraf's request for a bail extension, and Musharraf was put under house arrest.
Photos: Photos: Pervez Musharraf
PHOTO: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf is escorted by soldiers as he arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on April 20, 2013. A Pakistani court rejected Musharraf's request for a bail extension, and Musharraf was put under house arrest.

In a Tuesday statement, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces said the special court’s sentence had been received “with a lot of pain and anguish.”

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Musharraf “can surely never be a traitor” and that he had served the country for over 40 years.

“The due legal process seems to have been ignored including (the) constitution of special court, (the) denial of fundamental right of self-defense, undertaking individual specific proceedings and concluding the case in haste,” the statement said.

It added that the Armed Forces of Pakistan “expect that justice will be dispensed in line with the Constitution of Islamic Republic.”

Web of court cases

Musharraf earlier went into exile in 2008, returning to Pakistan in 2013 with the aim of running in the country’s national elections. But his plans unraveled as he became entangled in a web of court cases relating to his time in power.

In 2007, Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspended Pakistan’s constitution, replaced the chief judge and blacked out independent TV outlets.

Musharraf said he did so to stabilize the country and to fight rising Islamist extremism. The action drew sharp criticism from the United States and democracy advocates. Pakistanis openly called for his removal.

Under pressure from the West, Musharraf later lifted the state of emergency and called elections in which his party fared badly.

Musharraf stepped down in August 2008 after the governing coalition began taking steps to impeach him. Prosecutors say Musharraf violated Pakistan’s constitution by imposing the state of emergency.