ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to death in a long-drawn out high treason case, a landmark decision for a country where the all-powerful military has ruled for about half its history since independence in 1947.

A three-member bench of a special court announced the 2-1 verdict and said a detailed judgment would be released in 48 hours.

“The judgment is announced in haste, and the conviction of my client in absentia doesn’t have any legal foundation to stand on,” Musharraf’s lawyer Salman Safdar told Arab News, calling the sentence “unconstitutional and illegal” and the case “politically motivated”

“Proper legal procedure was not followed to initiate the case in the first place,” he said. “The sentence will be overturned in appeal [in a superior court],” he said, adding that he had yet to consult Musharraf about the appeal process.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 military coup against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but stepped down nine years later amid mass protests. He lived away from Pakistan for several years but returned in 2013, soon after which Sharif filed the high treason case against him for subverting the constitution and imposing a state of emergency in November 2007.

He was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 for health reasons that his lawyer argued prevented him from standing trial on treason and other charges. Musharraf denies the charges. He currently lives in Dubai and was recently hospitalized.

In a video message released earlier this month from hospital, Musharraf said he was being victimized through the case.

“I have fought wars for Pakistan and served my country for ten years,” Musharraf said, calling the treason case “baseless.”