LAHORE: A court in the eastern city of Lahore granted bail to the detained journalist, Rizwan-ur-Rehman Razi, here on Sunday, declining the request of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to remand him in its custody for ten days.
A television anchor for a private news channel, Razi became the first journalist to be booked under Pakistan’s Cyber Crime Act after he was taken into custody from outside his home in Lahore on Saturday morning, according to his son Osama Razi.
The Cyber Crime Act drew a spate of criticism when it was ratified in 2016, with journalists and activists fearing the wide-ranging law would be used to further heighten a media-censorship trend. Those convicted under the act will be serving a maximum penalty of seven years.
As FIA produced Razi before a judge, Asad Sajjad, on Sunday, where the journalist’s lawyer argued that the law enforcement agency had falsely implicated his client and there was no complainant mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR). He added that the accused had tweeted his opinion on a court decision that could not be considered as an attempt to defame state institutions.
However, the FIA insisted that Razi’s social media accounts carried stuff that was posted to defame an important institution of the state, i.e. the judiciary.
After hearing the two sides, the court granted bail to the journalist on furnishing a surety bond amounting to Rs100,000.
Razi is likely to be freed on Monday after submitting the required surety bond in the trial court.
Earlier, while en route to the court, the accused journalist refuted all allegations against him, saying: "I am a law abiding citizen and have always stood with state institutions against the enemies of Pakistan. I reject the allegations leveled against me in the FIR."
Razi was "bundled into a car" from his Johar Town residence by unknown persons later identified as FIA officials, Osama told Arab News.
“My father was dressing up to go to the market when some unknown people approached our house and asked my father to go with them. My father asked them to prove their identity and show an arrest warrant. Then we heard a gunshot,” he said.
“I rushed to the door,” he continued, “But the unknown, plain-clothed people dragged my father into a car and fled,” he said. “Then they shifted him into another vehicle before vanishing,” narrated Osama.
The FIA declined to comment, but an official from the law enforcement agency said, “The FIR is our version.”
According to the FIR released by the FIA Cyber Crime Wing, Razi had put up “obnoxious and defamatory” posts on his Twitter account against the "judiciary, government institutions and intelligence agencies.” The FIR further stated that Razi had "confessed" to uploading the posts, apologized and promised to refrain from posting similar material.
His Twitter account has since been removed from the social media platform.
In Washington D.C., the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Pakistani authorities to immediately release and drop all legal proceedings against Razi.
"Expressing opinions, even critical opinions, should not be a crime, in Pakistan or anywhere," said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler.
Journalists in Lahore also led a protest outside the Lahore Press Club on Saturday.
“The way Mr. Razi has been arrested is condemnable. He should have been served a notice first,” said Arshad Ansari, President of the Lahore Press Club.
“Journalists, however, should also use decent language while discussing matters,” he added.
Shahid Malik, former Bureau Chief of BBC Lahore and a former colleague of Razi’s, urged the authorities to exercise caution in the aftermath of the arrest, and to focus on the quality of the investigation.
“If due care and caution is not exercised, the authorities will be setting a very bad precedent, and putting a huge question mark on the freedom of expression.”
