Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Pakistani former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives to see his brother who was admitted to a hospital, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. A Pakistani appeals court has rejected Sharif's appeal over a seven-year prison sentence for corruption and refused to grant him release on medical grounds. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Republished February 25, 2019 - 5:00 AM
Original Publication Date February 25, 2019 - 1:26 AM
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani appeals court rejected former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's appeal over a seven-year prison sentence for corruption on Monday and refused to grant him release on medical grounds.
The Islamabad High Court's two-judge panel announced its ruling after the appeal hearings concluded last week.
Sharif's aide Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, also a former prime minister, said the former premier's legal team will take the case to the Supreme Court. "We are disappointed but respect the court verdict," Abbasi said. He added that there is still further legal course to exhaust. "Our legal team will file an appeal to the Supreme Court against it."
Sharif and his family members have been embroiled in several trials on corruption charges after the Supreme Court disqualified him from office in July 2017.
An anti-graft tribunal had sentenced Sharif to 10 years in another corruption case last year but that sentence was later suspended pending appeal.
Later in the day Sharif was moved back to prison. Shahbaz Gil, spokesman for the Punjab provincial government, said doctors had released Sharif from hospital in the eastern city of Lahore, where he was being treated for heart-related issues.
Ruling Prime Minister Imran Khan won last year's elections following pledges to uproot public corruption in Pakistan.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019