"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."
"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."
An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced multiple journalists, commentators, analysts and former army officers-turned YouTubers to life imprisonment in absentia for allegedly inciting violence during May 2023 unrest after former prime minister Imran Khan's arrest. The convicted individuals were not present in court and have been living abroad to avoid arrest. The unrest included attacks on military facilities and government property, prompting a broad government and military crackdown that used anti-terrorism laws and military trials to prosecute hundreds. The Committee to Protect Journalists described the investigations as retaliation and called for cases to be dropped and censorship to cease.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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