A local court on Tuesday sent journalist Farhan Mallick to jail in judicial remand. The journalist was arrested last week on the charges of producing anti-state content.
After the expiry of the initial four-day judicial remand, the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) presented him before the Judicial Magistrate (East) seeking an extension to the remand.
However, the court rejected the FIA’s request for his physical remand and instead sent the journalist to jail on judicial remand.
The court also issued notices on Mallick’s bail application, setting March 27th, as the next date for the next hearing.
During the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that anti-state videos had been reposted. In response, the judge questioned the nature of the videos and asked about the complainant in the case.
The court asked if he was being mistreated or harassed during the custody. The journalist told that his staff was being harassed. The court then questioned the investigation officer about the involvement of any other individual in the case and warned that if anyone was harassed, a show-cause notice would be issued to the officer.
FIR has been lodged against him under the Peca Act read with Pakistan’s Penal Code’s section 190 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 500 (punishment for defamation).
Read more: FIA arrests journalist Farhan Mallick allegedly over video content
Farhan Mallick runs a digital media outlet under the name of Raftar which describes itself as a “dynamic platform dedicated to driving social change through the power of storytelling.” He is also the former news director of Samaa TV.
FIA Cybercrime Reporting Centre Additional Director Shahzad Haider told the local news outlet that the inquiry against Farhan Mallick was initiated three months ago. Mallick had run several programs against the security establishment, said the officials regarding his arrest.
According to his wife, there was no charge sheet, nor any reason for his arrest. “We have not received a first information report (FIR), nor have we been informed about the charges,” she said over the phone. “We know that he’s at the FIA Cybercrime office in Gulistan-i-Johar.”
A tweet appeared on Thursday on the account of Farhan Mallick from his daughter. She said FIA officials barged into his office and gave no reason for their visit.
“They harassed him and his team, gave no reason for their visit, and demanded that he appear at their office today at 1 pm for a hearing,” the post read.