Musharraf can record statement in treason case over Skype, lawyer tells court

A two-judge bench of a special court hearing treason charges against retired Gen Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said that it is vital the former president’s statement be recorded in the case.

Musharraf left the country seeking medical treatment in March 2016 after being summoned by the court which is hearing a high treason case initiated against him for suspending the Constitution on Nov 3, 2007 — an offence for which he was indicted on March 31, 2014.

Musharraf’s lawyer, agreeing with the court’s stance, said that the bench should consider recording his client’s statement on Skype. However, the lawyer said, he would have to ask his client if he wished to provide his statement over Skype.

“The court had taken Mubarak Saigol’s witness testimony in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on Skype,” the lawyer told the court.

“It is not that the defendant does not wish to appear in court, it is that he is unable to be here because of his health,” the lawyer explained.

“Musharraf had assured us that he would return,” Justice Yawar Ali said, adding that the matter had now been raised in the Supreme Court.

To this, the lawyer responded that Musharraf is not returning at the moment.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, warned that Musharraf’s presence in court is vital. “The law will take due course if he does not return,” the prosecutor added.

The court, while adjourning the hearing till Monday, told Musharraf’s lawyer to inform the court about the former president’s decision regarding recording his statement over Skype in the next hearing.

The prosecutor was directed to give in written form to the court Musharraf’s objections to recording the statement on Skype.

Source: Dawn News