Military trial of Imran is admission that case against PTI chief is ‘weak’: ex-HRW head

ISLAMABAD: Former executive director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth has said that the government’s move to prosecute PTI Chairman Imran Khan in military courts is a "virtual admission that the case against him is weak".

"Civilians should be prosecuted only in independent and impartial civilian courts," he said.

Roth added that Pakistan’s military courts, which he said used secret procedures that deny due process rights, should not be used to prosecute civilians, even for alleged crimes against the military.

"For the Pakistani government to threaten to prosecute Imran Khan in compromised military courts is a virtual admission that the "case" against him is weak. If he really did something wrong, why not prosecute him in independent civilian courts?," tweeted Kenneth Roth.

In a subsequent tweet, Mr Roth said that civilians should be prosecuted only in independent and impartial civilian courts.