(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed relief following the commuting of the death sentence imposed on Rehmat Shah Afridi, editor-in-chief of the Peshawar dailies “The Frontier Post” and “Maidan”, to life imprisonment. On 3 June 2004, two Lahore High Court judges commuted Afridi’s death sentence to life imprisonment. The journalist continues to protest the Anti-Narcotics Force’s […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed relief following the commuting of the death sentence imposed on Rehmat Shah Afridi, editor-in-chief of the Peshawar dailies “The Frontier Post” and “Maidan”, to life imprisonment.
On 3 June 2004, two Lahore High Court judges commuted Afridi’s death sentence to life imprisonment. The journalist continues to protest the Anti-Narcotics Force’s (ANF) original hashish smuggling charge against him, claiming his innocence.
RSF regrets that Afridi was not acquitted, in view of the many irregularities during his arrest and trial. The organisation called for an independent inquiry into the procedural aspects of the case, which has allowed the government to keep the newspaper editor in prison for the past five years.
Afridi was arrested on 2 April 1999 and charged with drug possession and smuggling. This followed his frequent criticism of the ANF and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in his newspapers.
The judges struck down the death sentence imposed in June 2001 on grounds that hashish smuggling is not punishable by such a harsh sentence. Afridi was the first person in Pakistan’s history to receive a death sentence for the offence.
During the High Court hearing, the prosecution presented a video showing a person resembling Afridi meeting with ANF members disguised as drug smugglers. The person resembling Afridi can be heard refusing an invitation to get involved in heroin smuggling. On 20 May 2004, the court had criticised police for destroying material evidence used to convict Afridi.
The latest developments support the contention of Afridi’s family and RSF that the journalist was set up by the ANF in retaliation for his exposure of the national anti-drug squad’s corruption and abuse of power. His son, Jalil Afridi, plans to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.