Former President Of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, Sentenced To Death For Treason

Former Pakistan President and military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, has been sentenced to death in absentia for high treason following a six-year legal case. The ex-president was on trial over the charges relating to his suspension of the constitution in 2007 as he attempted to hold on to power. The 76-year-old former leader, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for more than three years, has the option to appeal the verdict.

Musharraf was the head of the armed forces when he led a military coup in 1999 that toppled Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf became president in 2001 and stayed in power for seven years, overseeing a period of oppression and rampant human rights abuses, and during which he also survived multiple assassination attempts. In an infamous purge in 2007, Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and placed several key judges under house arrest. But the move to suspend the constitution backfired and led to widespread protests by the country's powerful legal community. Musharraf left the country soon after.

He was indicted in 2014 on a total of five charges, including three counts of subverting, suspending and changing the country's constitution, firing Pakistan's chief justice, and imposing emergency rule. It's the first time in the history of Pakistan, that an army chief has been tried and found guilty of treason. Under Pakistan's constitution, high treason is a crime that carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. He is best known internationally for his role in the US 'war on terror', which he supported after the 9/11 attacks despite domestic opposition.

In a video message he released two weeks ago, Musharraf said he was ready to record his statement about the treason case for the court but that he was unable to travel to Pakistan.

During the video, looking visibly unwell, Musharraf claimed the treason charges were baseless and said he served his country for 10 years. "I have fought for my country," he said in the video. "This is a case in which I have not been heard and I have been victimized."