PTI Member Raoof Hasan and Nine Others Sentenced to 14 Days Judicial Custody In Propaganda Case

An Islamabad court on Tuesday sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf member Raoof Hasan and nine other party members to 14 days of judicial custody in the anti-state propaganda case, Pakistan-based daily Dawn reported. The Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan presented Hasan before the court after his physical remand was completed. The FIA and Islamabad police arrested Hasan last week during a raid conducted by both units, Dawn reported.

Hasan was arrested for PTI’s alleged “anti-state digital campaigns” after the Interior Ministry stated that the party spread “anti-state propaganda”. The Joint Investigation Committee (JIC) formed by the government probed “malicious social media campaigns” that caused “chaos and disorder”, Dawn reported. The Federal Investigation Agency said that they received a “technical report” and that “suspects were in contact with each other”.

PTI’s lawyer argued that since the accused had been remanded in FIA’s custody for seven days, he requested Raoof Hasan’s medical check-up, saying that he was not well, Dawn reported. The judge, however, ordered Hasan’s medical check-up as he complained about severe chest pain before sending him to jail on a judicial remand for 14 days.

On July 23, a two-day physical remand of Raoof Hasan was approved by a district and sessions court in Islamabad. After presenting Hasan to the court, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor asked that the defendant be placed on physical remand so that gadgets purportedly used for anti-state propaganda could be recovered.

The agency’s prosecutor informed the court during the session that an FIA case may be eligible for a 30-day physical remand. Next, he implored the court to place the PTI official under physical remand for ten days, handing him over to the investigating agency. Latif Khosa, Hasan’s attorney, disagreed with the prosecutor’s request for a physical remand.

(With ANI Inputs)

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