Court Awards Double Life Sentences to Adil Raja, Six Others

YouTuber Adil Raja, former army official Syed Akbar Hussain, and journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir, Moeed Pirzada, Shaheen Sehbai, and Haider Mehdi have all received double life sentences from an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad.

On May 9, 2023, ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra issued the sentencing in cases involving “digital terrorism” against governmental entities.

24 witnesses were called before the court by the prosecution, which was represented by Raja Naveed Hussain Kiani. The prosecution requested that the trial be ended without the defendants, who were represented by Advocate Gulfam Ashraf Goraya, who was appointed by the court.

Each offender was given a harsh life sentence under Section 121 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which deals with waging, attempting to wage, or aiding in the waging of war against Pakistan, in accordance with court orders. For criminal conspiracy, another harsh life sentence was imposed under Section 120-B of the PPC.

The court imposed a total punishment of Rs. 1.5 million and an extra 35 years of hard imprisonment on each of the five crimes in addition to the life sentences.

These include Section 131 of the PPC for encouraging mutiny or trying to entice a soldier, sailor, or airman away from duty, and Section 121-A of the PPC for conspiracy to conduct offenses, which is penalized by Section 121.

Section 11-W for printing, publishing, or disseminating material to incite hatred or giving projection to any person convicted for a terrorist act, Section 21(i) for abetment of the offense, and Section 7(i) for acts of terrorism were the three additional severe 5-year prison sentences imposed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997.

All sentences must be served consecutively, per the court’s order. The prisoners have seven days to file an appeal with the Islamabad High Court, even though the proceedings were completed in absentia. The High Court’s final confirmation is still pending for all sentencing.

Additionally, the court extended the advantage of Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which permits a period of detention to be taken into account while determining an imprisonment sentence.

The convicts, who are currently regarded as absconders, must be taken into custody by the appropriate SHOs.