Behind bars: Bail pleas of two Ahmadi men refused

Suspects were arrested over five years ago for preaching their faith.

LAHORE: A court refused on Friday the post-arrest bail pleas of two Ahmadi men, who were arrested more than five years ago allegedly for preaching their faith in Lahore.

The suspects belonging to the Ahmadiyya community have been behind bars since their arrest on March 12, 2012 for propagating their faith by inviting the complainant to accept it.

The complainant’s counsel, Advocate Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, told the court the men were found guilty of preaching their faith during the course of police investigation. A banned book along with other blasphemous literature was found on the suspects as well.

He contended that sufficient incriminating evidence was available on record to prima facie connect the men with the offence and no interior motives have been explained by the suspects’ counsel.

The lawyer for the accused argued his clients were implicated in a fake case merely to humiliate and blackmail them.

He contended that nothing had been recovered from the arrested men to connect them with the offence.

The lawyer implored that the suspects had been behind bars for five years without any conviction or having any criminal record.

After listening to arguments from both sides, the judicial magistrate dismissed the bail petitions of the men.

The Iqbal Town police booked the two men under sections 298-C and 295-A in March 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2017.