“PTI workers faced physical, mental torture in military custody,” claims lawyer

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer Khadija Siddiqui, representing Imran Khan’s party workers facing trials in military courts for their alleged involvement in the May 9 riots, has revealed disturbing details about their treatment.

According to her, these workers were coerced into confessing their crimes under extreme torture.

Following the arrest of the former prime minister on May 9, 2023, by Rangers personnel at the Islamabad High Court, unrest and violent riots erupted nationwide, with PTI supporters protesting his arrest.

Rioters attacked military installations, staged demonstrations, and set fires in various locations across the country, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of individuals, currently facing military trials.

Siddiqui, who has been pursuing the case of these PTI workers, highlighted the stark differences between military and civil courts.

She pointed out that military courts, presided over by lieutenant colonels and major generals lacking legal expertise, often lack transparency and fair procedures, which undermines their impartiality.

In contrast to civil courts, where defendants are afforded the right to a fair trial, Siddiqui lamented that in military courts, defendants are often left in the dark about proceedings, with limited opportunities to defend themselves against the charges brought forth.

9مئی کے ایک ملزم کو جب ہر طرح سے ٹارچر کیا گیا لیکن وہ اعترافی بیان دینے کے لیے رضا مند نہ ہوا تو جب اس کے سامنے ناخن نکالنے والی مشین لائی گئی تو پھر وہ اعترافی بیان ریکارڈ کروانے کے لیے تیار ہو گیا۔خدیجہ صدیقی@ZubairAlikhanUN @khadijasid751 #9May #MilitaryCourts #WENews pic.twitter.com/gWwQrnkfCc

— WE News (@WENewsPk) May 8, 2024

After being apprehended by military authorities, Siddiqui revealed that the workers were handed over to intelligence agencies, where they faced daily interrogations in cramped cells, often lasting for hours with physical torture.

“The treatment inflicted upon these workers was aimed at extracting confessions, which would later be presented before judicial magistrates,” the PTI lawyer alleged.

Those who resisted confessing, she claimed, “were subjected to both physical and mental torture.”

Siddiqui recounted a distressing incident involving one of her clients who, despite enduring severe physical torture, initially refused to confess. 

However, when authorities brought pliers to extract his nails, he reluctantly agreed to provide a confessional statement.