Two Ahmadis sentenced in hate speech case by Lahore sessions court

Two Ahmadi men were sentenced by a Lahore sessions court for hate speech in a 2019 case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency’s former cybercrime wing. Additional District and Sessions Judge (AD&SJ) Nusrat Ali Siddiqui Malik sentenced one man, 'S', to seven years in rigorous imprisonment under Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), seven years under Section 295-A of the Penal Code (PPC), and three years under Section 298-C.

He was also fined Rs100,000, Rs100,000, and Rs50,000, respectively. The other accused, 'Z', received a three-year sentence and a fine of Rs50,000 under Section 298-C. A third accused, 'M', was declared a proclaimed offender. The FIA had registered the FIR on a complaint alleging that a WhatsApp group named "Sindh Salamat" was used to share blasphemous material, with forensic reports showing 'S' created the group and shared Ahmadi religious material.

The judge acquitted both men under Section 295-B, noting the lack of evidence for defiling the Holy Quran, and acquitted both of abetment and common intention due to the absence of material defaming the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Brief written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.