Court upholds death sentences in Musharraf's attack case
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, March 29, IRNA
Pakistan-Musharraf-Attack
A court in Pakistan on Tuesday rejected the appeals of four Air Force employees against the death sentence awarded them for planning the assassination attempt on President General Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.
President Musharraf survived the attacks in 2003 when he was riding a motorcade in the city of Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad.
The accused had challenged death sentence awarded by a military court.
The Lahore High Court judge, Syed Akhtar Shabir, while rejecting the appeals after a preliminary hearing, said that the court cannot hear appeals against verdicts from military courts.
Defence lawyer Mohammad Akram told the court that there were no direct evidences against the accused and that confessional statements were extracted from them after a month's delay, which he described as contrary to laws.
He said the military court had also not provided a copy of the verdict to him and he was allowed to read it only.
The military court had ordered hanging of the convicts on March 28 but their sentence could not be carried out as their appeals were taken on the same date. However, the defence lawyer said preparations for hanging have not yet started as their relatives have not yet held a last meeting with them.
Six Air Force employees and a civilian were handed down the death sentence by a military court for masterminding the assassination attempt on President Musharraf by blowing up a bridge.
President Musharraf narrowly escaped the attack as his car passed the bridge a few moments earlier.
Two Air Force employees have been awarded life imprisonment while a civilian has challenged his death sentence in the Supreme Court.
2020/235/2321/1414
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