RFE
21 Jan 2020, 02:15 GMT+10
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of a Pakistani journalist who it says has been held for days on a 'flimsy' charge of posting 'anti-state' content on social media.
Police in the city of Lahore arrested Azhar-ul Haq Wahid on January 16, and a local judge on January 20 rejected a request for his release, ordering him placed in judicial custody, RSF said in a statement.
The Paris-based media-freedom watchdog said Wahid, a reporter for Channel 5 TV and the newspaper Khabrain, is facing up to three years in prison.
His arrest 'is clearly another attempt to intimidate journalists who refuse to be censored,' said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk.
'We call on the Lahore courts to dismiss the charges against him and to free him at once. The credibility of the rule of law in Pakistan is at stake,' Bastard added.
RSF quoted the Lahore police report as saying 'anti-state and defamatory material against the public functionaries and state departments' was posted on Wahid's Facebook page.
But the report failed to identify the offending material, the group said.
RSF quoted Wahid's lawyer as saying his client was being punished for his criticism of the government and his comments about a recent court decision overturning the death sentence passed on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in December.
Wahid was charged under two articles of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which RSF said was 'often used by the authorities to silence journalists who dare to cross the regime's implicit red lines.'
'As the traditional media are heavily censored, online platforms have become the only place where Pakistanis can express opinions at variance with the official line,' according to the watchdog.
The country is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Get a daily dose of Cleveland Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cleveland Star.
More InformationSAN FRANCISCO, California: Grammarly is doubling down on AI-powered productivity tools with the acquisition of Superhuman, a sleek...
NEW YORK, New York -U.S. stock markets closed with broad gains on Thursday, led by strong performances in U.S. tech stocks, while European...
LONDON/STOCKHOLM: The Persson family is ramping up its investment in the H&M fashion empire, fueling renewed speculation about a potential...
PARIS, France: L'Oréal is making a fresh play in the booming premium haircare segment with a new acquisition. The French beauty conglomerate...
MENLO PARK, California: Robinhood is giving European investors a new way to tap into America's most prominent tech names — without...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks diverged on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The Standard and Poor's 500 hit a new all-time...
Washington DC [US], July 3 (ANI): As the Expedition 73 and Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crews kept up their ongoing space biology studies...
ABU DHABI, 19th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has become the first and only research hospital in the UAE to receive...
ABU DHABI, 17th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 group, has successfully introduced continuous infusion...
ABU DHABI, 9th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has successfully performed the UAE's first robotic cytoreductive surgery...
ABU DHABI,16th May, 2025 (WAM) - Oracle Health, Cleveland Clinic, and G42 today announced a strategic partnership to develop a groundbreaking...
ABU DHABI, 6th May, 2025 (WAM) -- PureHealth and its subsidiary SEHA have partnered with the number one US children's hospital, Cincinnati...