Overview
- Those convicted are Adil Raja, Wajahat Saeed Khan, Sabir Shakir, Moeed Pirzada, Shaheen Sehbai, Haider Raza Mehdi and Syed Akbar Hussain, according to court orders.
- Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra found them guilty of offences including incitement, waging or attempting to wage war, and criminal conspiracy linked to unrest after Imran Khan’s May 2023 arrest.
- Each convict also received additional sentences totaling 35 years and fines of Rs1.5 million, with orders noting sentences run concurrently and nonpayment triggers six more months in prison.
- The trials were conducted in absentia as the accused were abroad, with 24 prosecution witnesses and a court-appointed defense counsel recorded in the proceedings.
- Press-freedom and human-rights groups have condemned such prosecutions as retaliatory, and police have been directed to arrest the men if they return to Pakistan.