MADINA: A Saudi court has sentenced Pakistani Muhammad Tahir Malik to three years of imprisonment and a SAR10,000 fine for hooliganism and chanting slogans inside Masjid-e-Nabawi during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation visit.
The convict has been given a right to appeal against the court verdict within 30 days.
Several pilgrims, including Pakistani nationals residing in the kingdom, hackled federal ministers Marriyum Aurangzeb and Shahzain Bugti on April 29 while they were visiting the mosque. The ministers were part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s delegation who visited the kingdom after taking the office.
According to the documents, the sentence was announced by the panel circuit of the Criminal Court of Madinah after all the evidence and confession of the defendant were taken into consideration. Defendant Muhammad Tahir Malik admitted that he made the video at a forbidden location and later posted it on his social media account.
It has been said in the verdict that the accused had protested against the Pakistani government officials in the courtyard of Masjid-e-Nabawi and later made a video of it and broadcast it on TikTok. It has been written in the verdict that this act of the offender is considered a crime under Article No. 6 of Cyber Crime.
The mobile phone used in the crime has also been confiscated from the accused while an order has also been issued to close the account used in the crime. Information about this punishment has also been given in two journals Sabq Electronica and Madina Munawara News, the expenses of which have also been paid from the pocket of the accused.
The court has ordered the provision of translation of the verdict to Malik, after which he will have 30 days to appeal again the decision.
