A court of the judicial magistrate Lahore on Friday freed anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan, a vocal critic of the current government, in a treason case.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Imran Riaz Khan was arrested at the Lahore airport on Thursday on charges of “hate speech” and making a “violence-inducing statement”,
Imran Riaz was dismissed from the case and ordered to be released by the court as it announced its reserved judgment in the case in response to the FIA’s plea for a 14-day remand.
Imran Riaz has previously been taken before the Lahore court of the judicial magistrate. In his courtroom remarks, Riaz’s attorney Mian Ali Ashfaq argued against the FIA’s request for a 14-day physical detention and claimed that expressing disapproval of the government cannot be grounds for a treason charge.
Imran Riaz Khan arrested at Lahore airport
Imran Riaz was reportedly recorded making a hate statement in public at a conference that was held on FIA cyber crime cell territory, according to the FIA counsel.
The complaint further claimed that the speech had been widely disseminated on social media sites both domestically and abroad.
The court has reserved its decision regarding the matter after hearing arguments from both sides.
