PTI supporter gets 3 years for tweeting against army, senior military leadership

A district and sessions court in Faisalabad has sentenced a supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to three years in prison for “defaming” the Pakistan Army by conducting a “highly offensive and intimidating campaign” on Twitter against the senior military leadership.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested 30-year-old Sikandar Zaman in 2022 after receiving a complaint under sections 20 (Malicious code) and 24(c) (Legal recognition of offences committed in relation to an information system) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. It also invoked Pakistan Penal Code sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 505 (statements inciting public disorder).
The Pak Lawyers Forum reported that his account had 184 followers.
The police seized Zaman’s mobile phone and Twitter account as well.
According to the first information report (FIR) cited in the verdict, Zaman posted a tweet against the Pakistan Army last year “relating to the helicopter incident” with the intent to “spread panic” among the general public.
In August 2022, six army officers and soldiers perished when their helicopter crashed in the Lasbela district of Balochistan. Following the crash, a social media campaign emerged, which the army condemned as “insensitive.” The FIA then began tracking down the perpetrators of the campaign.
After Zaman’s arrest, the PTI supporter was brought to court and the trial commenced. On February 8, the trial concluded and Additional Sessions Judge Munif Khan issued a subsequent order.
According to the judgement,  the defendant did not deny that he was the owner of the aforementioned Twitter account.
“During forensic analysis of the recovered mobile phone, a number of similar types of saved data ranging from 1 to 29 pages were recovered from the mobile phone’s memory. Although these 29 pages do not contain the alleged comments, the technical staff of the FIA explained that a forensic report of a mobile phone was prepared in light of the scope provided by the IO (investigating officer) and according to this scope, forensic analysis was to be conducted on posts against the army.”
The court stated that the timing of Zaman’s tweet was pertinent because it was discussed during the country’s current political crisis.
“The defendant himself admitted that he is a PTI political worker.” All documentary evidence supports the same conclusion. Under the circumstances, it is impossible to conclude that the accused lacked mens rea (intent) and that the remark lacked malice and specific intent. The prevalence of cybercrime and social media crime has persisted for many years.
“The accused attempted to create a dispute regarding the senior leadership of the armed forces, which inevitably affected subordinate officials and the general public,” the order stated.
The court also stated that the defence failed to undermine the prosecution’s case regarding the alleged “self-speaking” statements.
ADSG Khan stated, “In light of the foregoing reasons and findings, it is determined that the prosecution has fully established its case in light of modern devices” and convicted the defendant under sections 20, 24(c) of PECA, 2016 and 500/505 of the PPC.
Under Section 20 of PECA, the court sentenced Zaman to one year in prison and a fine of Rs100,000. In accordance with Section 24 of the law, he was sentenced to one year in prison and a Rs100,000 fine.
The court stated, “The defendant Sikandar Zaman is also convicted under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to one year of solitary confinement and a fine of Rs10,000.”
According to section 505, he was sentenced to three years in prison and fined Rs50,000. The sentences were to be executed simultaneously.
In addition, the court ordered that Zaman be arrested and incarcerated.
“His surety is released from the obligation of the bail bond. “The mobile phone seized from the offender during the raid shall be forfeited to the state,” the court order continued.
Azhar Mashwani, the PTI’s social media coordinator, stated that the Insaf Lawyers Forum was attempting to contact Zaman’s family.
“Inshallah, the verdict will be appealed and the sentence will be suspended,” he tweeted.
A Lasbela helicopter crash
On August 1, 2022, during flood relief efforts in Balochistan, an army helicopter crashed in Lasbela, killing six officials, including a corps commander.
After the helicopter crash, a subset of social media activists and certain political extremists launched an abhorrent and unacceptable online campaign to advance their personal and political animus, which elicited a strong response from individuals from all walks of life, the political leadership, and state institutions.
ISPR also condemned the “extremely unacceptable and regrettable” social media campaign.
In the meantime, the ruling coalition blamed the PTI’s social media team for launching the smear campaign at Imran Khan’s direction.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation formed a four-person team in response. The team was tasked with identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting those responsible for the malicious campaign.