Rizvi produced in court, charged with sedition | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Rizvi produced in court, charged with sedition

QUETTA: A reporter detained while helping two French journalists, who were arrested last month, has appeared in court on police charges of sedition and conspiracy.

Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, 44, was arrested on December 17, for arranging a visit by the French journalists, Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, to Balochistan, even though they did not have valid visas.

The Frenchmen, both of whom work for the weekly ’Express, were freed on January 12, after a court waived a six-month prison sentence handed to them.

The authorities accused them of hiring local Pashtoon tribesmen to act as Taliban in a documentary film in an attempt to tarnish Pakistan’s image.

Khawar Mehdi Rizvi and two tribesmen, who took part in the documentary, appeared briefly in a court in Quetta on Monday
and were remanded in custody until Tuesday on chargesof sedition and conspiracy, offences that carry maximum terms of life imprisonment.

Source: Dawn
Date:1/28/2004