A UN torture expert has called on Pakistan to end its inhumane treatment of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, as his party planned to stage a nationwide march demanding his release.

Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture, said Khan had been held in near-total solitary confinement for 33 months under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance.

Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has been imprisoned for more than two years over a series of charges that he and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party say are politically motivated.

He was ousted from office in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022 and has since faced dozens of cases, including corruption, leaking state secrets and terrorism-related offences, all of which he denies. “Fmr PM #ImranKhan now held in near-total solitary for 33 months in a small, windowless cell under 24-7 CCTV,” Edwards said in a post on X.

“Often more than 2weeks continuously, without exercise or meaningful human contact. This far exceeds the MANDELA rules. I call on #Pakistan to restore humane conditions.”

Edwards’ post refers to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, dubbed the Mandela rules, designed to ensure prisoners have their dignity and human rights respected.