'Digital terror': Adil Raja, others sentenced to life

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the federal capital has sentenced over half a dozen journalists and YouTubers, Including Adil Raja, to "rigorous life imprisonment" for "digital terrorism" in two different cases stemming from May 9, 2023 acts of violence.

Islamabad ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Supra on Friday unveiled his verdict on conclusion of a trial that was held in absentia as none of the accused person is in Pakistan

The cases were registered at Islamabad's Aabpara police station and Ramna police station.

The prosecution had accused the convicted individuals of "digital terrorism" — to incite, facilitate and amplify attacks against state institutions during the May 9 unrest.

Gulfam Ashraf Goraya, a court appointed lawyer for the accused, as well as Raja Naveed Hussain Kiani, the lawyer for the prosecution, were present in the courtroom when the judge announced the verdict.

Adil Raja, Shaheen Sehbai, Haider Mehdi and Wajahat Saeed were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on two counts in the case registered at the Ramna police station.

Journalists Sabir Shakir, Moeed Pirzada and Syed Akbar Hussain — nominated in Aabpara police station FIR — were also sentenced to life in prison on two counts.

The court sentenced the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on each of them under Section 121-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for waging or attempting to wage war against Pakistan.

They were penalised with another 10-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment and Rs200,000 fine under Section 131 of the PPC that deals with abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from their duty.

The court also sentenced them to 5-year rigorous imprisonment on three counts under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. It also imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on each of them for the three offences.

In case they fail to pay the fine for any of the offences, the period of their imprisonment will extend by six months

The orders further stated that the benefit of Section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the Code of Criminal Procedure was being extended to the convicts, and that all sentences were to run concurrently.

"The convict is informed that he has the right to file/prefer an appeal in the Hon'ble Islamabad High Court, Islamabad within seven days," each of the orders said.

The court also authorised and instructed the relevant station house officers to arrest the convicts "upon his availability and to forward him to jail for the commitment of his sentence".

During the trial, a total of 24 witnesses were presented by the prosecution in the court, which completed the trial in the absence of the accused on the request of the prosecution. According to the ATA, 1997, a trial can be held in the absence of the accused.