Pakistan Anti-terrorism court grants jail term to YouTuber for justifying Sialkot lynching

A Pakistani court granted a jail term of one year to a YouTuber who was involved in justifying the brutal killing of a textile industry executive, news agency PTI reported. According to reports, the court granted a jail term of one year to 27-year-old Muhammad Adnan for justifying the lynching of a Sri Lanka man in Sialkot. The YouTuber was charged under Pakistani anti-terrorism law. It is pertinent to mention here that more than eight hundred angry supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right Islamic extremist political party based in Pakistan, attacked a garment factory and lynched its general manager in December last year. Subsequently, the body of the 40-year-old was set on fire over allegations of blasphemy. 

Subsequently, the Sialkot man had uploaded a video on YouTube in which he justified the killing of 47-year-old Priyantha Kumara. "Adnan had advocated the killing of those committing blasphemy. On his YouTube channel, he made arguments in favour of the killing of Kumara. As the video went viral on social media, police lodged an FIR against him and presented a charge sheet against him in Gujranwala anti-terrorism court (ATC)," PTI  quoted Assistant Sub-Inspector Mubarak Ali, who is also a complainant of the case. Meanwhile, during the time of pronouncing the verdict, judge Natasha Naeem also imposed a fine of PKR 10,000 on the YouTuber. The prosecution presented the video of Adnan in the court which he did not deny, Ali said.

Of 200 detained in the blasphemy case, 115 were released due to lack of evidence

While briefing about the case, Ali said the police detained at least 200 people with the help of video footage and social media clips. However, 115 of them were released due to lack of evidence against them, he added. They will be presented before the ATC on January 31. Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti has also directed the Sialkot District Police Officer to complete the charge sheet of the suspects and submit it to the ATC at the earliest so that the trial could begin and the culprits are brought to justice, reported PTI. Surprisingly, the Pakistani government led by Imran Khan did not release any compensation to the victim's family. However, the local business community has handed over a donation of $100,000 to Kumara's wife. 

(With inputs from PTI)

(Image: ANI/AP/Unsplash)