Pakistans Imran Khan denied public trial after court order

Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was denied an open court trial on Tuesday as ordered by a high court after the government submitted reports citing threats to his life, his lawyer said.

The special court hearing the case later said Khan's trial on the charge of leaking state secrets will be held in jail premises but will be open to media and the public, the lawyer said.

The trial in jail will begin afresh on Friday, the court said. It has been conducting the trial in prison since Khan was indicted on the charges last month.

The Islamabad High Court had ruled last week that holding Khan's trial inside jail premises on security concerns was illegal, and ordered it restarted in an open court. Khan has denied the charges against him.

The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.

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