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March 31, 2014 / 11:07 AM

Former Pakistani President Musharraf pleads not guilty of high treason

Marking only his second court appearance since his trial for high treason began in December, Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf pleaded not guilty on Monday. The 70-year-old former president addressed the special tribunal, defending his years of service and refuting the charges against him.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (L) swears in Yousaf Raza Gilani as the new Prime Minister in Islamabad on March 25, 2008. (UPI Photo/Sajjad Ali Qureshi)

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (L) swears in Yousaf Raza Gilani as the new Prime Minister in Islamabad on March 25, 2008. (UPI Photo/Sajjad Ali Qureshi) | License Photo

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf appeared in court Monday to plead not guilty of high treason.

Monday marked only his second court appearance since the long-delayed trial began in December. The 70-year-old former president was hospitalized in January for chest pains and admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology.

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Musharraf has been charged with treason for actions he took on November 3, 2007, when he dismissed judges and suspended the constitution.

The actions he took in 2007, he told the judges, were recommended by his then-Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his cabinet.

While addressing the court Monday, Musharraf defended his years of service and refuted the charges, which he has alleged are politically motivated: "I am being called a traitor, I have been chief of army staff for nine years and I have served this army for 45 years ... I have fought two wars and it is treason?"

[The Guardian]

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