Judicial magistrate asks police to file challan in journalist Bilal Farooqi case

A judicial magistrate on Saturday ordered the police to file a challan in a case against journalist Bilal Farooqi.

Bilal, a news editor at The Express Tribune, was detained in relation to an FIR registered against him two days ago. According to the FIR, Bilal was booked under Section 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

During Saturday’s hearing, the investigation officer (IO) submitted a police report in the court of judicial magistrate Uzair Ali Khan, saying that Sections 500 and 505 were added in the FIR by mistake.

However, Sections 11 and 20 of Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016 remain and the court was informed that the FIA is the competent authority as the sections relate to the country’s cybercrime laws.

The judge asked the IO to file a Class-C challan. Police stated that the no evidence was available against the journalist. The judge questioned the police if they think they “can arrest anyone over anything?"

The IO will now have to submit the challan within the next 14 days. Bilal was represented by his lawyers, Jibran Nasir and Advocate Ghulam Shabir Buledi.

Scores of journalists were present outside the court to express solidarity with Bilal.

Bilal was released in the wee hours of Saturday, hours after he was picked up by police from outside his home in Karachi. His friends and colleagues said Bilal was freed on the ‘personal bail’ of his lawyer Jibran Nasir.

A spokesperson for the Sindh Law Department told The Express Tribune that the FIR would be investigated.

After the court hearing, a protest was staged outside Karachi Press Club (KPC) seeking “justice” for Bilal.

Protesters chanted slogans for freedom of expression and freedom of press in the country. They said media persons should not be treated as criminals.

The protesters said several cases of similar nature have been reported recently in different cities.

“Such arrests and fake FIRs failed to suppress the voice of journalists in the past,” said a journalist participating in the protest, adding that such attempts could not muzzle their voices.

Tashfeen Farooqi, the wife of Bilal Farooqi, told The Express Tribune that her husband was taken away by the police from outside their home in Defence View, Phase 2.

She said that their landlord called Bilal to come outside with his identity card as police were conducting a “survey” in their street.

“When he didn’t return, I went out to enquire but Bilal was not there. The landlord told me that the police took him with them,” Tashfeen said.

The landlord added that Bilal was driven away by two policemen who were accompanied by two men in civvies.

After some time, Tashfeen received a call from Bilal who told her that he was being held at the Defence police station. Following the call, police officials visited his residence again and “snatched away” Bilal’s cell phone from his wife.