Imran Khan

Jan. 2 (UPI) — An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday sentenced five journalists, a YouTube influencer and a military officer to two life sentences each for “digital terrorism” crimes.

Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Tahir Sipra announced the verdicts for the defendants, who were tried in absentia.

Pakistani law allows for trials in absentia, but their verdicts must be confirmed by the Islamabad High Court.

Those who were sentenced were Akbar Hussain, Wajahat Saeed Khan, Haider Raza Mehdi, Moeed Pirzada, Shaheen Sehbai, Sabir Shakir and Adil Raja.

Raja is a YouTube influencer, while Khan, Shakir, Sehbai, Mehdi and Pirzada are journalists. Hussain is a former Pakistan army officer.

The court found that the seven defendants encouraged riots on May 9, 2023, after former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested briefly in Islamabad for alleged corruption.

Imran Khan’s supporters attacked governmental buildings and military facilities in several locations.

Prosecutors brought 24 witnesses against the defendants and said they used their respective digital media channels to incite riots, enable attacks and amplify the violence against governmental institutions.

If their sentences are upheld, each faces up to life in prison plus a $5,500 fine for criminal conspiracy.

Each also could be sentenced to another 10 years in prison and fined more than $2,200 for waging or attempting to wage or abetting in waging war against Pakistan.

Additionally, each defendant has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for three counts of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and fined nearly $7,000.

All sentences are to run concurrently if upheld by the higher court.

Court sentences journalists in absentia over alleged links to violent unrest after ex-PM Imran Khan’s May 2023 arrest.

A court in Pakistan has sentenced several journalists and social media commentators to life imprisonment after convicting them of inciting violence during riots in 2023 linked to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

An anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, announced the verdict on Friday in the capital, Islamabad, after completing trials held in absentia.

The convicted include former army officers-turned YouTubers Adil Raja and Syed Akbar Hussain; journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir and Shaheen Sehbai, commentator Haider Raza Mehdi, and analyst Moeed Pirzada, according to the court’s decision.

None of the accused was present in court as they have been living abroad after leaving Pakistan in recent years to avoid arrest.

The convictions stem from cases registered after unrest in May 2023 saw some of Khan’s supporters attack military facilities and government property in response to his brief arrest in a corruption case.

Since then, the Pakistani government and military have launched a sweeping crackdown on Khan’s party and dissenting voices, using anti-terrorism laws and military trials to prosecute hundreds accused of incitement and attacks on state institutions.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said in 2023 that the investigations amounted to retaliation against critical reporting.

“Authorities must immediately drop these investigations and cease the relentless intimidation and censorship of the media,” CPJ Asia programme coordinator Beh Lih Yi said.

Journalist Sabir Shakir, who previously hosted a popular television programme on ARY TV before leaving Pakistan, told The Associated Press news agency on Friday that he was aware of his conviction.

He said that he wasn’t in the country when police accused him of encouraging mob violence.

“The ruling against me and others is nothing but a political victimisation,” Shakir told AP.

Under Friday’s court order, those convicted have the right to file appeals within seven days.

The court also directed police to arrest them and transfer them to prison should they return to Pakistan.