Pakistan top court grants bail to media tycoon after months in jail in land case - GulfToday

Pakistan top court grants bail to media tycoon after months in jail in land case

  • 09 Nov 2020
ShakilurRehman

Police detain Shakil-ur Rehman outside a court in Lahore. File

Tariq Butt, Correspondent 

Pakistan’s Supreme Court (SC) on Monday granted bail to the chief executive of Jang Group of Newspapers, Mir Shakil-ur Rehman, months after his arrest in an old case related to allegations of tax evasion in a real estate purchase.

The top court granted bail to Rehman against a surety bond of Rs10 million. The Lahore High Court had earlier denied bail to Rehman, after which he had appealed the decision in the SC.

He was held in detention for more than 200 days by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a case related to the purchase of a property more than 30 years ago.

The senior-most executive journalist of Pakistan's largest media group had been in NAB custody since March 2020, on what his legal counsels have consistently argued are trumped-up charges.

"The court has granted bail to Mir Shakil-ur Rehman, he is going to be released after spending more than 200 days in detention", Rana Jawad, Geo TV's director of news, said.

Last week, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Pakistan's supreme court to order Rehman's release, saying he was being held on a "spurious charge."

RSF added Rehman's group was targeted because its journalists "dare to tackle stories that are supposed to be off-limits."

Related articles

Services provided by artists, media influencers in UAE subject to VAT, clarifies FTA

The bulletin clarified that if an artist or influencer incurs any costs in providing a service and subsequently recovers that cost from its client, such reimbursement falls within the scope of VAT in the UAE.

07 Mar 2021

Drug addict to serve 5 years in prison

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an Asian to 5 years in prison and fined him Dhs20,000 for abusing drugs and making other countrymen do the same thing as well. The Court also ruled that the convict would be deported after serving the terms.

12 Aug 2022

Woman hires gang to abduct a man to get her money back from him in Dubai

The Dubai Court of Appeal commuted a judgment of three years imprisonment issued by the Criminal Court against an Asian woman and a gang from an Eastern European country to 6 months in prison, while upholding the fine of Dhs29,800 and the deportation after serving the terms.

15 Aug 2022

Over 30 inmates saw out of Lebanon jail, escape: Officials

"The escapees include Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, among other foreigners," a judicial told AFP. A security source confirmed the escape method, saying the prisoners were likely aided by someone on the outside.

07 Aug 2022

Most Popular Stories

Other Articles

Britain provides E-visas for citizens of the Gulf countries and Jordan for only £10

Gulf visitors are highly valuable to the UK economy, with over 790,000 Gulf visitors spending £2 billion during their stays in the UK last year.

an hour ago

Deadly blast damages world's longest ammonia pipeline in Kharkiv

The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline transporting toxic ammonia was destroyed in a blast.

3 hours ago

UAE strongly condemns stabbing attack targeting children in French Alps

The UAE expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the government and people of the French Republic and to the families of the victims of this heinous crime, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured.

3 hours ago

14 types of leave for federal government employees in UAE

The full-time employee is entitled to an annual leave with a total salary as follows: 30 working days for the incumbents of special grade (B) and above and the like, and for the rest of the jobs (22) working days.

4 hours ago