FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2017 file photo, the wife, center, of a judge is escorted from the Supreme Court by her brother in Islamabad, Pakistan. A Pakistani high court on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 has convicted a former judge and his wife of torturing a 10-year-old child working as a servant at their home and sentenced them to a year in prison. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)
Republished April 17, 2018 - 7:41 AM
Original Publication Date April 17, 2018 - 1:11 AM
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani high court convicted a former judge and his wife of torturing a 10-year-old child working as a servant at their home and sentenced them to a year in prison on Tuesday.
Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court also fined the couple — former deputy district judge Raja Khurram and his wife Maheen — the sum of 100,000 Pakistani rupees, about $900.
The case of the girl, Tayyaba, first made headlines when police rescued her in 2016 from the judge's residence in Islamabad, following complaints from neighbours.
Initially her parents struck a deal to pardon the couple but the Supreme Court, which also acts as a supervisory tribunal, ordered a retrial.
Prosecutor Tariq Jahangiri said the verdict was reached after a retrial that lasted one year.
Later, the convicted couple was granted bail by the same court. Their defence attorney, Rizwan Abbasi, said the bail was granted against bonds of 50,000 rupees each to allow them to appeal the conviction. Abbasi said he will file the appeal in the country's Supreme Court.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018