Former Pakistani Prime Minister Appeals 7-Year Prison Sentence - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appealed the court decision that sentenced him last week to seven years in prison and a $2.5-million fine in a corruption case, the DAWN newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The appeal of the former prime minister states that the court’s decision is based on a misinterpretation of the law. According to the defence, the available evidence was presented incorrectly, and the sentence was passed without consideration of the defence lawyers' arguments.

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Last week, an anti-corruption court in Islamabad found Sharif guilty of corruption in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case. He was acquitted of graft charges in the Flagship Investment reference for lack of evidence. The court gave the ex-premier a sentence of 7 years in prison and a fine of $2.5 million. In addition to the prison term and the fine, the court forbade Sharif to hold public office for 10 years after serving the sentence.

In July last year, Pakistan's top court removed Sharif from office after the release of the so-called Panama Papers, revealing offshore accounts and other financial information of many prominent figures across the world.

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The dossier indicated that Sharif's children owned offshore accounts in the British Virgin Islands and expensive property in London. Pakistani authorities questioned the sources of the Sharif family's assets.

Sharif served as the prime minister of Pakistan three times: in 1990-1993, in 1997-1999 and in 2013-2017.