A unique trial in prison

ISLAMABAD: The trial of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam, lodged in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, in prison in the two undecided references will be unique, unheard of since the promulgation of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) in 1999.

Normally, some cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) are heard in jail where no one is allowed entry. Also, jail trials are organised in certain cases of heinous crimes, the latest being the one against Imran, who was charged with raping and killing minor girl Zainab of Kasur. Besides, all civilians proceeded against by the military courts face in camera trials.

Under the NAO, the presence of the accused, the Sharifs in the instant case, is mandatory before the accountability court during every hearing. If they ever want to absent themselves for any reason they have to formally seek exemption from the judge.

“Trial of any accused under the NAO has never been held in jail, behind the closed-doors. No such instance comes to my mind since 1999,” former deputy prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Raja Aamir Abbas told The News when approached for comments.

He said only the defence and prosecution lawyers and the accused will be allowed to attend the hearings held in the jail. He said it seems that security considerations are the reason behind the decision to try the Sharifs in prison.

Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and eminent lawyer Kamran Murtaza dubbed this trial as inappropriate but legal and permissible and said there is no example of anyone indicted under the NAO to have been tried in prison.

He said the media men or anybody else would be able to watch these proceedings only through special passes. Generally, jail trials are held when there is danger that the accused will be attacked on the way to or from the court, he said,

No jail trial is even provided in the NAO. Its section 16(b), which has been invoked to hold the proceedings against the Sharifs in the Adiala jail, doesn’t provide for closed-door hearings. The provision says the [accountability] court shall sit at such place or places as the federal government may, by order, specify in this behalf.

The trial of those indicted under the NAO is always open and is not held in jail. The general public is legally allowed to attend such proceedings. When contacted, Caretaker Minister for Law and Information Syed Ali Zafar Shah told The News that the cabinet approval for changing the place of the accountability court was required and it was duly got before issuance of the notification.

The chances that Nawaz Sharif will often breathe the fresh air during his regular appearances before the accountability court in the judicial complex of Islamabad in connection with the hearing in the two pending references have dimmed due to the jail trial.

Quickly after pronouncing his judgment in the London apartments’ reference, Judge Muhammad Bashir resumed hearings in the Flagship Investment and Hill Metal Establishment cases at the same old fast pace.

“Under the law, the accused has to be presented before the court unless it exempts him from appearance. When he is in the custody of the State, it is responsible to produce him before the court,” Kamran Murtaza said.

Nawaz Sharif is unlikely to skip even a single hearing in these references as he is going to get an opportunity to give vent to his views through the media men, covering the proceedings. During earlier hearings, he has been talking to journalists, running his campaign against the institution of the references, taking on his rivals.

When Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and Capt. (R) Safdar had been in Pakistan, they had been punctually attending the court proceedings. For several times, the judge turned down their requests for exemption whenever they had filed them to go to London to be with ailing Begum Kulsoom. Only after they had flown to Britain on June 14, the court had given repeated exemptions. The NAB always opposed every plea made by the Sharifs for exemption.

Authorities believed that it was going to be a huge security nightmare to transport the former prime minister, Maryam and Safdar to the accountability court in Islamabad from the Rawalpindi jail because it is a long, insecure route. Hundreds of policemen will be needed for deployment along the route almost daily as the court holds day to day hearings.

However back in 2000 the Sharifs and their comrades had faced an open trial in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the plane hijacking case. They were always brought in the armoured personnel carriers to the ATC from the Landhi jail.

Apart from Nawaz Sharif, two other former prime ministers – Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Parvez Ashraf – are facing trials in accountability courts, but the proceedings against them are open and were not held in jail.