Pak court sentences journalists to life over links to 2023 protests after Imran Khan’s arrest

Islamabad (TIP)- An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced seven people — including journalists, YouTubers and former military officials — to two life terms each over cases linked to the violence that followed the 2023 arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The verdict relates to the nationwide unrest on May 9, when Khan’s detention triggered large-scale protests by supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party. Protestors torched army installations and vandalised state property in several cities, prompting a sweeping crackdown by authorities.
Those convicted include YouTuber Adil Raja; journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir and Shaheen Sehbai; television anchor Haider Raza Mehdi; analyst Moeed Pirzada; and former army official Akbar Hussain. Cases were registered at Islamabad’s Ramna and Aabpara police stations.
Prosecutors accused the seven of engaging in what they termed “digital terrorism against state institutions”, alleging they used online platforms to incite violence and unrest during and after the protests, according to news agency PTI.
Islamabad-based Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdicts after reserving judgment earlier. As all the accused were abroad and did not return to face trial, the proceedings were conducted in absentia under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws. The court sentenced each convict to rigorous life imprisonment on two counts: waging or attempting to wage war against Pakistan, and criminal conspiracy. Each was also fined 500,000 Pakistani rupees per offence. In addition to the life terms, the court also imposed a combined 35 years of further imprisonment under other legal provisions and an additional fine of 1.5 million rupees on each individual. Failure to pay any of the fines would result in an extra six months in prison, according to the court orders.
Each judgment noted that the convicts have the right to appeal before the Islamabad High Court within seven days.
Among those sentenced are three former army officials — Raja, Mehdi and Hussain — with Raja and Mehdi also active as YouTubers. The remaining convicts are journalists known for views sympathetic to Imran Khan. All left Pakistan after his government was removed from power and did not return to contest the charges.

41 Comments

  1. I am now not sure where you are getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend a while finding out more or working out more. Thanks for excellent information I used to be searching for this info for my mission.

  2. The very root of your writing whilst appearing agreeable at first, did not settle very well with me after some time. Someplace within the sentences you actually were able to make me a believer unfortunately just for a while. I still have a problem with your leaps in logic and you might do nicely to fill in all those gaps. If you can accomplish that, I would definitely end up being impressed.

  3. Hello, Neat post. There’s a problem together with your web site in internet explorer, might test thisK IE nonetheless is the marketplace leader and a huge part of people will omit your fantastic writing due to this problem.

  4. I together with my buddies were going through the best suggestions on your web site and then all of the sudden developed a terrible feeling I had not thanked the site owner for those techniques. Those ladies are actually for this reason passionate to see them and have sincerely been using these things. Thanks for being well considerate and also for selecting this form of magnificent subject matter most people are really wanting to discover. My personal honest regret for not expressing gratitude to earlier.

  5. Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Appreciate it

  6. Great blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. Cheers

  7. Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossips and internet and this is really annoying. A good blog with exciting content, this is what I need. Thanks for keeping this site, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Cant find it.

  8. Aw, this was a really nice post. In concept I wish to put in writing like this moreover – taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and on no account seem to get one thing done.

  9. I enjoy you because of your entire efforts on this web page. Kate delights in participating in investigation and it’s really simple to grasp why. I hear all concerning the powerful means you provide functional information on your website and therefore boost participation from others about this area of interest while our princess is certainly starting to learn a whole lot. Enjoy the remaining portion of the year. Your conducting a brilliant job.

  10. Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some creative ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great website and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

  11. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Fantastic work!

  12. Whats up this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!

  13. Unquestionably consider that which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be at the web the easiest thing to consider of. I say to you, I definitely get irked whilst other folks consider concerns that they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also outlined out the whole thing with no need side-effects , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

  14. Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

  15. Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. However think of if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this website could certainly be one of the best in its niche. Fantastic blog!

  16. Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.

  17. A lot of whatever you mention happens to be supprisingly appropriate and that makes me wonder the reason why I had not looked at this with this light before. Your article really did switch the light on for me personally as far as this particular topic goes. Nonetheless there is one particular issue I am not too cozy with and while I make an effort to reconcile that with the actual main idea of the point, allow me observe what the rest of the subscribers have to point out.Well done.

  18. Hi I am so glad I found your web site, I really found you by error, while I was researching on Aol for something else, Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a remarkable post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the awesome work.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.