Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged Pakistani authorities to release investigative journalist, Syed Fawad Ali Shah, who was in exile in Malaysia since 2011 and had a refugee status but was deported to Pakistan last year and is being “illegally” detained in a jail in Peshawar.
Malaysian authorities deported the journalist at the request of the Pakistan High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in August last year. The Pakistani authorities initially denied that he was in the country. However, his whereabouts became known in February this year when he was moved to Adiala Jail after being subjected to enforced disappearance for over five months. He was shifted to a jail in Peshawar 10 days later.
The RSF further stated that Shah is being held on the charges of posting “false, frivolous, and fake information” online in violation of sections 20 and 24 of the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The charges of defaming state officials were also allegedly brought against him. The RSF said there was no evidence to support the charges and urged the authorities to release the journalist immediately.
The journalist left the country after he was allegedly abducted by unidentified men in 2011.
