Pervez Musharraf Pakistan ex-leader sentenced to death for high treason

A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced the country's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to death in a treason case related to the state of emergency he imposed in 2007 while in power, officials said.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and later ruled as president, is not in Pakistan and was not available for comment on the sentence, handed down by an anti-terrorism court hearing the high treason case.

"Special Court Islamabad has awarded death sentence to former President Pervez Musharraf in a high treason case," Radio Pakistan tweeted.

He is currently in Dubai after being allowed to leave the country for medical treatment in 2016.

It's the first time in Pakistan's history 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.

Pakistan and the U.A.E. have no extradition treaty and Emirati authorities are unlikely to arrest Musharraf. If he were to return, however, Musharraf would have the right to challenge his conviction and sentence in court.

The court’s full ruling was not available but it said in a summary it had analyzed complaints, records, arguments and facts in the case and had reached a majority verdict, with two of the three judges giving the decision against Musharraf.

The case centres around Musharraf’s decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency rule in 2007, according to his lawyer Akhtar Shah. The controversial move ultimately sparked protests against Musharraf, leading to his resignation in the face of impeachment proceedings.

He issued a video statement from a hospital bed earlier this month, describing the case against him as "baseless". Gen Musharraf is the first military ruler to ever stand trial in Pakistan for overruling the constitution. The verdict was announced Tuesday with a 2-1 majority.