PTI supporter sentenced to 3 years in prison for tweeting against army
A district and sessions court in Faisalabad sentenced a PTI fan to three years in prison for “defaming” the Pakistan Army through a “very offensive and frightening campaign” on Twitter against the senior military leadership.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) detained Sikandar Zaman,30, last year after receiving a complaint against him. Complaints were in accordance with sections 20 (Malicious code) and 24(c) (Legal recognition of offences committed in relation to information system) of the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. In addition, they cited Sections 500 (Punishment for Defamation) and 505 (Statements Contributing to Public Mischief) of the Pakistan Criminal Code.
According to the Pak Lawyers Forum, 184 people were following him on his account.
The police also took Zaman’s mobile phone and Twitter account. The FIR claims Zaman tweeted last year to “spread terror” about the Pakistan Army’s helicopter incident.
Six soldiers and army officers embraced martyrdom in August 2022 when their helicopter crashed in Balochistan’s Lasbela area. Following the crash, a social media campaign started that the army deemed “insensitive” arose. The FIA has then started looking for those responsible for the initiative.
After the arrest of Zaman, the court summoned the PTI supporter for trial proceedings. On February 8, the trial came to a conclusion, and Additional Sessions Judge Munsif Khan issued a ruling.
According to the verdict, the defendant did not contest ownership of the aforementioned Twitter account.
“From the recovered mobile phone, a number of similar types of saved data were recovered from the memory of the mobile phone during forensic analysis, consisting of 1-29 pages. Although these 29 pages do not contain the alleged comments, it was explained by the technical staff of FIA that a forensic report of mobile phone has been prepared in the light of the scope provided by the IO (Investigating officer) and as per this scope, forensics was to be conducted regarding posts against the army.”
The court sentenced Zaman to one year in prison . It also imposed a fine of Rs.100,000 under Section 20 of the PECA. He also received a year in prison and a Rs. 100,000 fine under Section 24 of the statute.
Moreover, He received a three-year sentence and a Rs. 50,000 punishment for violating Section 505 of the law. Despite this, the court directed to arrest and detain Zaman while ordering the concurrent execution of his sentences.
Azhar Mashwani, PTI’s social media head, said Insaf Lawyers Forum is trying to contact Zaman’s family. He gave assurance of overturning the court’s judgment.
The news came as a shock to PTI supporters as PTI supporter sentenced to 3 years in prison for tweeting against army.
