GENEVA: United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards has urged the Pakistan government to take immediate and effective action to address reports of former prime minister Imran Khan’s “inhumane” detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement on Friday. “Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said. “His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days. She called for lifting Khan’s solitary confinement without delay.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said. “Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
