Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says a Czech model sentenced to more than eight years in prison for drug trafficking will be set free after a court overturned her conviction.
Tereza Hluskova was arrested in January 2018 at the airport in the eastern city of Lahore after police found nine kilograms of heroin in her suitcase as she tried to board a flight to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The 25-year-old, who claimed someone had planted the drugs in her luggage, was convicted and sentenced in March 2019 to eight years and eight months in prison for the offence.
She immediately appealed the verdict and on November 1, the ministry confirmed a statement from Hluskova's lawyer that "a court of appeals has decided to acquit the Czech national in Pakistan."
Details of the verdict have yet to be released, the ministry added.
The Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed the report, saying Hluskova's lawyer said their client will be freed "in the coming days."
"The consular department is examining the possibilities of transport," a spokeswoman for the Czech Foreign Ministry added.
Pakistan is part of the drug-smuggling routes from Afghanistan to Central Asia, Europe, and North America.
