Journalist’s appeal hearing postponed | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Journalist’s appeal hearing postponed

On 31 March 2004, Munawar Mohsin, a subeditor of the Peshawar-based national daily “Frontier Post”, was scheduled to appear in court. His appeal was postponed, however, because his lawyer, Zhur-ul Haq, had a scheduling conflict. No new date was set for the examination of Mohsin’s appeal.

The bench consisted of Justices Tariq Pervaiz and Dosht Muhammad. Pervaiz is expected to be replaced since he is a former student of Haq.

BACKGROUND:

On 8 July 2003, Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Sardar Irshad convicted Mohsin of “blasphemy” and sentenced him to life in prison and a fine of Rs50,000 (approx. US$870). The judge held Mohsin responsible for publishing a letter in the 29 January 2001 edition of “Frontier Post”, that resulted in violent demonstrations across the country, most notably in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Two other defendants – then news editor Aftab Ahmad and computer operator Wajeehul Hassan – were acquitted by the court, as the prosecution could not prove its case against them. The court declared “Frontier Post” editor Mahmood Shah Afridi to be a “proclaimed offender” and issued a “perpetual warrant” for his arrest.

The case was registered by Information Department Director Mehdi Hussain at the West Cant police station, under Sections 295 (A), (B) and (C) and 505 of Pakistan’s Penal Code (PPC). The letter published in “Frontier Post”, was allegedly written by a person named Ben Dzec. It appeared in the “Your Views” column of the newspaper and included derogatory references to the Prophet Mohammed. The day after the letter’s publication, a violent mob set the newspaper’s printing press on fire and damaged other public property, including a movie theatre. Publication of “Frontier Post”, was suspended for several months.

At the time of the incident, Mohsin was a drug addict and had escaped from the Peshawar Mental Hospital a few days before the publication of the offending letter. The NWFP government ordered a judicial inquiry shortly after the letter’s publication, which was conducted by High Court Justice Qaim Jan Khan.

Eleven prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial. The judge did not accept the view that the defendant was mentally ill and a drug addict, as the investigating officer did not consider these facts in the course of his investigation. The court also observed that the accused was “not found to be abnormal” during his trial. The court ruled that Mohsin was responsible for selecting the offending letter and approving it for publication. As such, he was found guilty of “intentionally and willfully committing an offence” under Section 295 (C) of the PPC.

Mohsin has been imprisoned since January 29, 2001.
Source: PPF
Date:4/9/2004