ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has hired renowned barrister Geoffrey Ronald Robertson to represent him in international courts in cases related to “unlawful detention and human rights abuses.”
The PTI has faced a countrywide crackdown since Imran Khan’s brief arrest on May 9 which sparked widespread protests that led to attacks on military installations. He faces a long legal battle before he can make a political comeback ahead of the election expected early next year.
The renowned London-based lawyer Doughty Street Chambers confirmed that Imran Khan has appointed the eminent Human Rights Barrister Geoffrey Robertson to “advise and represent him in international courts in relation to unlawful detention and human rights abuses.”
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan @ImranKhanPTI @PTIofficial has appointed the eminent Human Rights Barrister Geoffrey Robertson KC of @DoughtyStreet Chambers to advise and represent him in international courts in relation to unlawful detention and human rights abuses.
— Doughty Street International (@DoughtyStIntl) September 1, 2023
PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari also shared the announcement and mentioned the high-profile cases overseen by the human rights lawyer.
He added that Robertson has “successfully represented many hundreds of people who have suffered human rights abuses including unlawful detention”.
“He successfully represented President Lula da Silva of Brazil at the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva for the human rights and legal abuses he suffered by a biased judiciary in Brazil,” Bukhari wrote in his post.
He added Robertson enjoys a distinguished career as a trial and appellate counsel, international judge, and author of leading books on struggle for human rights and global justice. “IA soon the injustices will be exposed,” he stated.
Robertson’s clients include heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, Dow Jones and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. He has successfully represented The Guardian, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, among other media outfits.
He has appeared in cases before the European Court of Human Rights and in other courts around the world and has been on several human rights missions on behalf of Amnesty International, including in Mozambique, Venda, Czechoslovakia, Malawi, Vietnam and South Africa.
In 2015, Robertson represented Armenia with barrister Amal Clooney at the European Court of Human Rights and since 2016 has been representing Lula da Silva, the current president of Brazil.