Digital terrorism during May 9 violence: ATC hands double life sentences to Sehbai, others

ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday awarded two life imprisonment sentences to YouTubers and journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Adil Farooq Raja and others in cases registered against them for allegedly committing digital terrorism during May 9 violence.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra while announcing his reserved judgment handed down two life sentences each to YouTubers Adil Raja a former military officer, Wajahat Saeed Khan, Muhammad Sabir Shakir, Shaheen Sehbai, Syed Haider Raza Mehdi, Moeed Hassan Pirzada and Syed Akbar Hussain. The court announced the judgment after the completion of the trial in absentia.

The court handed down a total of 35 years of imprisonment to the convicts and imposed a cumulative fine Rs 1.5 million. The prosecution maintained that the convicted individuals were involved in coordinated online campaigns aimed at inciting unrest and undermining state authority during the May 9 violence.

The prosecution had accused the convicted individuals of “digital terrorism against state institutions” in relation to the events of May 9, 2023.

The cases stemmed from allegations that the accused used digital platforms to incite, facilitate and amplify attacks against state institutions during the May 9 unrest.

According to the verdict, cases were registered against Raja, Khan, Sehbai and Mehdi at Humak police station. Similarly, cases against Shakir, Hussain and Pirzada were registered at the Aabpara police station.

The court sentenced the individuals to rigorous life imprisonment on two counts — waging or attempting to wage war against Pakistan and criminal conspiracy. They have also been directed to pay Rs500,000 in fines for each of the two offences.

As per the verdict, the accused were awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs200,000 for committing an offence under Section 121-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The said provision deals with the subject of conspiracy to commit offences that are punishable under Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage war against Pakistan) of the PPC.

Furthermore, they have also been penalised with another 10-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment and Rs200,000 fine for committing an offence under Section 131 (abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from their duty) of the PPC.

They have also been handed out triple five-year sentences of rigorous imprisonment on three counts under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. They are also required to pay Rs200,000 for each of the three offences.

The verdict says that in case they fail to pay the fine for any of the offences they have been found guilty of committing, the period of their imprisonment will extend by six months, according to the court orders.

The orders further stated that the benefit of Section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the Code of Criminal Procedure was being extended to the convicts, and that all sentenced handed out to them were to run concurrently.

It said the accused have the right to file/prefer an appeal before Islamabad High Court (IHC), within seven days. The court also ordered the concerned station house officers to arrest the convicts upon his availability and to shift them to jail for the commitment of his sentence.

During the trials in the cases, the prosecution produced 24 witnesses. Prosecutor Raja Naveed Hussain Kayani and defence counsel Advocate Gulfam Ashraf appeared before the court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026