A Karachi court handed the journalist Farhan Malick to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for four days on Friday for allegedly issuing “antistatal” content on the YouTube channel of his environment.
Malick is the founder of the Media Agency Raftar which describes itself as a “dynamic platform dedicated to promoting social change through the power of stories narration.” He is also the former news director of TV Samaa.
YouTuber was arrested a day ago in Karachi, with Raftar Stating that FIA officials visited their offices on Wednesday night without prior notice, where they “harassed our team” and summoned Malick to their office.
Malick appeared before the judicial magistrate-I (east) Yusra Ashfaq today, where the FIA sought its 14-day physical custody, but the return was granted for four days until March 25 (Tuesday), according to documents shared online and verified by Dawn.com.
They showed that it was reserved by the FIA by virtue of sections 16 (unauthorized use of identity information), 20 (crimes against the dignity of a natural person) and 26-A of the Law on Electronic Crime Prevention (PECA) 2016, as well as sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 109 (Sonta) of the Pakistan Criminal Code (PPC).
In particular, section 26a is among the recently added provisions to PECA laws, in which false news is defined as any information on which a person “knows or has reasons to believe that they are false or false and probably cause or create a feeling of fear, panic or disorder or concern.”
Any person convicted of disseminating such information could be sentenced to up to three years in prison or fined to RS2 million, or both.
The criminalization of online disinformation has spread fear in Pakistan, with journalists among those concerned with the potential scope of the law.
“Amends are being presented specifically to suffocate dissent, kidnap, arrest and detain journalists, and to silence journalism, silence dissent and silence all criticisms of the State,” said Human Rights Lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir AFP.
According to the first information report (FIR) dated March 20, the FIA had received a report on RAFTAR TVThe YouTube channel, which was “involved in the execution of a campaign for the publication of antiestatal videos aimed at the dignitaries mentioned in violation.”
He added that the initial technical analysis of the YouTube channel revealed that Mallick was “involved in the generation and dissemination of anti-state-related publications and videos consist of false news and an agenda of public incitement.”
“He has continuously [been] Disseminate and load publications and videos related to fake anti-state news and public incitement agenda, which causes damage to the reputation of public institutes internationally […]”The Fir said.
In his return request submitted to the Court, the FIA had said that Mallick should be interrogated and that efforts are also required [to] Discover your complicit complicit and any other device or equipment containing the incriminating material suspected of being in the custody of other defendants. ”
The investigation of the case had not yet been completed, the journalist “had to be interrogated at the point of modus operandi.”
‘There is simply vagueness’
The lawyer Muhammad Jibran Nasir said that the FIR, the investigation notice and the Remunction report do not cite a specific piece of content that is supposedly defamatory or anti-state.
“The big problem is that URL or links were not presented in any of these documents,” Nasir told Dawn.com. “Tomorrow, they (the authorities) can present anything and affirm that that was what he said.”
Nasir continued: “Nor was a date. Incidents need a date, an hour and an audience. None of these details are mentioned. Are they investigating it for a video or four?
“There is a vagueness,” he said when asked about the case.
On the other hand, the Malick Raffar said in an X publication: “At this stage, there has been no concrete evidence to corroborate the ‘anti-state’ accusations against Mr. Malick or Raftar.
“We are still committed to defending the principles of press freedom and due process and we will continue to chase all legal means to ensure that justice prevails,” he added.
The arrest of Malick yesterday received generalized criticisms of the media fraternity, as well as the rights activists.
The Pakistan Human Rights Commission had asked the authorities to verify the overreach of the agencies […] and defend the right to freedom of expression. ”
Pakistan occupies the 152nd position of 180 countries in a press freedom index compiled by reporters without borders.
The country has been criticized for a long time by guard dogs for restricting Internet access, including temporary prohibitions on YouTube and Tiktok, while X is officially blocked.
