Pakistan court gives death sentence to seven people, including journalists, ex-military man

Seven people, including three journalists, two YouTubers and two retired army officers were given life imprisonment by an Islamabad court in Pakistan after it found them guilty of inciting violence during riots in 2023 and spreading hatred against state institutions. The verdict was announced by anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra in Islamabad.

While the judge awarded the sentence to the accused, none of them were present in the court as they fled the country and have been living abroad to avoid arrest.

Former editor Shaheen Sehbai; two other journalists, Sabir Shakir and Moeed Pirzada; YouTubers Wajahat Saeed Khan and Haider Raza Mehdi; and retired army officers Adil Raja and Akbar Hussain are the accused who have been awarded imprisonment.

Charges against all seven people stemmed from the May 2023 violent unrest that led to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in corruption case.

During the 2023 protest Imran Khan backers took over the streets of Pakistan and vandalised government property. The building of state-run Radio Pakistan was also damaged during the protest and the residence of a senior army officer was ransacked.