Facebook Harasser Gets 14 Months in Jail and Rs 2 Lakh Fine

Magistrate Farooq Azam Sohail sentenced a man who harassed a girl on Facebook to 14 months in prison, along with a fine of Rs. 200,000. The ruling came after a complaint was filed by the victim under Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016, following which the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested a man named Azhar Safdar.

Details of the Case

Reportedly, the accused was harassing and blackmailing the girl over the social networking platform Facebook. To ascertain his involvement, the FIA presented a mobile phone recovered from the convict at the time of arrest before the trial court.

The defence counsel, on the other hand, defended their client by saying that the mobile phone was planted at the place of arrest and did not belong to the suspect.

After hearing the arguments, the court ordered punishment for the suspect as his counsels failed to prove his innocence. FIA’s evidence was considered solid and the decision was made based on the evidence submitted by the agency.

The trial court judge also expressed his views about the cyber crime and highlighted the need for awareness programs for the government. He also said:

“Every scientific invention simplifies the aspect of everyday life, at the same time it gives birth to a new crime”

Cyber stalking cases are increasing in Pakistan, however, most of these go unreported due to the lack of awareness. It is high time for the authorities to take necessary measures to mitigate this evil.