Pakistan court sentences journalists, YouTubers and former military official over 2023 riots – JURIST

An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Friday sentenced seven people for incitement of violence and spread of hatred against state institutions during the May 2023 riots. Those convicted include YouTuber Adil Raja, journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir and Shaheen Sehbai, anchorperson Haider Raza Mehdi, analyst Moeed Pirzada, and former army official Akbar Hussain. All were charged with “digital terrorism.”

Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict, sentencing all defendants to two consecutive life terms, along with a fine of 1.5 million rupees, for waging, attempting to wage, or abetting the waging of war against Pakistan, as well as for criminal conspiracy. They have also been convicted under Section 121-A of the Pakistan Penal Code that deals with the subject of conspiracy to commit offenses, and Section 131, abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor, or airman from their duty. The court has also ordered an extension of imprisonment for an additional six months, in case they fail to pay the fines. Further, the order extends the application of Section 382-B, which considers the period of detention when awarding the sentence. All sentences handed out to them also run concurrently. As per the order, the court has authorized station house officers to arrest the convicts “upon their availability and forward to jail for the commitment of their sentence.”

Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra ordered the trials to be completed in absentia. The accused, absent during the trials, have been living in foreign countries to evade arrest. Section 19 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 provides for the trial of an accused “in his absence if the court deems such absence to be deliberate and in an ode to impeding course of justice.” The verdict has also emphasized the need for such trials, underpinning the applicability of the Act in the case at hand. 

Those convicted have the right to file an appeal before the High Court of Islamabad within seven days. The prosecution, led by Raja Naveed Hussain Kayani, produced 24 witnesses. A detailed judgment is awaited, outlining the evidentiary basis and legal reasoning for the convictions and sentences.

Journalist and YouTube anchor Sabir Shakir tweeted that the case was baseless, false, and outdated and that he would continue to raise his voice for the constitution, law, democracy, independent judiciary, free media, parliament, and fundamental rights. Journalist and YouTuber Adil Raja, responding to the conviction, wrote that, “speaking the truth is now called Digital Terrorism in Pakistan.”

The May 2023 riots stem from the removal of the then-prime minister, Imran Khan, from power after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament and was disqualified as a member of parliament, because of his conviction for corruption in March 2022. In November of the same year, Khan escaped an assassination attempt while leading a protest in the city of Wazirabad in the Punjab province for demanding early elections. Khan was arrested on May 9, 2023 in Islamabad during a corruption trial. Following these events, police used excessive force and fired on the protestors against the arrest of Khan, with the government even cutting off mobile internet services and restricting access to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. 

Late last year, the country’s Field General Court Martial sentenced over 25 people for their involvement in the May 2023 unrest. Amnesty International condemned the trial of these civilians in military courts and urging it to maintain the constitutional right to a fair trial. Several of these defendants were also being tried in courts for conspiracy at the same time. In October 2024, Human Rights Watch reported on the increasing usage of the Anti-Terrorism Act to suppress dissent following the detention of Imran Khan. Late December, Adil Raja had been declared as a “proscribed individual” by the Cabinet, effectively approving a summary imposing on him a ban, as per Section 111E of the Anti Terrorism Act, 19.