Pakistan police sentenced for ‘manhandling’ judge

Pakistan’s Supreme Court Thursday handed suspended jail sentences to Islamabad’s former police chief and four other officers for “manhandling” the country’s top judge.

The officers were found guilty of mistreating Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as he went to court in March for a legal hearing following his suspension by President Pervez Musharraf.

On Thursday former Islamabad inspector general Chaudhry Iftikhar and another senior officer were each sentenced to 15 days imprisonment, while three other policemen were given sentences of one month in jail.

However the sentences were suspended for 15 days to give the police officials time to appeal the judgment following a request from their lawyer, the court said.

Judge Rana Bhagwandas, who headed the bench hearing the case, confirmed they had been found guilty of manhandling the chief justice.

Islamabad, Friday, AFP