Azam Swati granted bail in tweets case

Lawyer alleges that the senator was tortured in custody

A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Friday granted post-arrest bail against surety bond worth Rs1 million to Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) leader Azam Swati in a case related to controversial tweets.

Special Judge Central Raja Asif Mehmood announced the verdict on Friday which was reserved a day earlier.

At the previous hearing, Special Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi raised objections at the court’s jurisdiction and said this case should be transferred to the session court.

The prosecutor argued that the accused had given a hateful statement about the head of a state institution through his tweet.

The institution had no connection with the courts’ decisions, he said, adding the accused had used a provoking way against state institutions at a public forum.

Swati had also admitted that during the investigation, Abbasi said.

In his concluding arguments, Swati’s counsel Baber Awan said that his client had used the right of freedom of expression through his tweet.

My client was tortured and humiliated during the custody, he alleged.

PTI senator Azam Swati was taken into custody by the FIA's Cybercrime Wing (CCW) from his home in Islamabad on October 13 after registering a case against him over the tweets.