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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international organisation protecting journalist rights across the globe, demanded on Tuesday the unconditional release of Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz, who had been arrested under terrorism charges.
Additionally, CPJ demanded Pakistan to stop harassing and detaining members of the press for their work, as the whereabouts of the Pakistani journalist still remain unknown. According to the report by CPJ, Riaz was an independent journalist who ran a YouTube channel with approximately 4.6 million subscribers. He was initially freed on bail under a corruption case, but was re-arrested merely hours after the first arrest under separate charges of terrorism. The incident took place outside a court in the eastern city of Lahore, the CPJ stated quoting media reports and a statement given by Azhar Siddique, one of Khan's lawyers. Initially, Khan was facing a case involving allegations of a corrupt land deal, after police arrested him on February 22 in a night raid on his Lahore home and seized his personal devices, according to news reports and the journalist familiar with the case. "Pakistan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Imran Riaz Khan and stop detaining journalists in retaliation for their work or commentary. The detention of Khan and other outspoken journalists highlights the systematic crackdown on the press. Newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif must end this relentless campaign of intimidation against the media once and for all." said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. According to the same report by CPJ, an anti-terrorism court had ordered a remand of five days in police custody for Khan ending on Wednesday. CPJ report further claims that Khan has been transferred to an unknown location outside Lahore quoting Siddique and a journalist familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Khan was accused of attacking police officials and damaging government vehicles on March 14, 2023, at a protest by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore, according to Siddique, who described the case as "fake and fabricated." The same report claimed that Khan was present on the scene, reporting for the BOL News (a prominent news outlet in Pakistan). At that time Khan was employed as an anchor, stated Faysal Aziz Khan, BOL Network's President and Chief News Officer, told CPJ via messaging app. The court ordered that the journalist be remanded in police custody based on a March 2023 police first information report--a document opening an investigation--involving charges of stone-pelting, throwing petrol bombs, and intervening in state matters, the same news piece quotes Siddique, saying that neither Khan nor he had received a copy of any such report. (ANI)
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