ISLAMABAD: A sessions court in Islamabad on Friday sentenced prime accused Usman Mirza and four others to life imprisonment for holding a couple at gunpoint, forcing them to strip, beating them up, and filming the entire ordeal.
Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani delivered the verdict. Those sentenced include Usman Mirza, Idris Qayyum Butt, Mohib Khan Bangash, Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Farhan Shaheen while accused Umar Bilal Marwat and Rehan Hussain were acquitted.
According to the court’s order, Usman and his accomplices have been sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 354-A (assault or use of criminal force to a woman and stripping her of her clothes) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The court has ordered them to pay a fine of Rs200,000 each. In case of non-payment, they would have to undergo six months of simple imprisonment.
The convicts have also been sentenced to seven years in prison for criminal intimidation (Section 506) and three years for intending to insult the modesty of a woman (Section 509(i)).
عثمان مرزا کیس میں متاثرہ لڑکی اور نوجوان کے منحرف ہونے کے باوجود عمر قید کی سزا جدید ٹیکنالوجی کی بطور شہادت قبولیت کی انتہائ خوش آئند ہے، وہی معاشرے ترقی کا زینہ چڑھتےہیں جہاں انصاف ہو انشاللہ سیالکوٹ اور دیگر مقدموں میں بھی انصاف کے قریب ہیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 25, 2022
The Case
The case surfaced when a video of four people harassing the couple at gunpoint went viral on social media in July 2021.
Initially, an FIR was registered under section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 354A (assault or use of criminal force against woman and stripping her of her clothes), 506 (ii) (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of Pakistan Penal Code.
Later, sections pertaining to rape, sexual abuse, extortion, and wrongful confinement were also added to the FIR. On September 28, 2021, the seven accused including Usman Mirza were indicted by the court.
The E-11 torture case made headlines once again in January 2022 when the woman complainant retracted her statement against the accused and told a trial court that she did not want to pursue the case.
On January 12, ruling PTI lawmaker and Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Barrister Maleeka Bokhari said that the state would now pursue prosecution in the Usman Mirza case ‘irrespective of recent developments’ relating to the victim’s testimony.
“The video of Usman Mirza (primary accused) has been verified by the Pakistan Science Foundation, and we have photogrammetry (pertaining to the technique for making measurements through photographs) evidence,” she had said in a statement.
