NCCIA handed journalist Bilal Ghauri's custody for another 2 days in Peca case

ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate on Thursday extended the physical remand of journalist Bilal Ghauri by two days in a case registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

Ghauri was handed into police custody for three days on Monday, with a September 6 case filed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) accusing him of spreading false information. The case alleged that the journalist had created and shared content about the recent appointment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s (Nacta) head.

On Thursday, Ghauri was produced before Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman upon the completion of his three-day physical remand.

The NCCIA sought the journalist’s custody for another six days for further investigation.

Opposing the request, Ghauri’s counsel, Imran Shafiq, argued that the NCCIA had already stated that the required recoveries had been made.

“If the recovery has already been made, what further remand do they need?” the counsel asked.

He pointed out that the NCCIA had taken Ghauri’s mobile phone and laptop into custody and also had access to his social media accounts.

The counsel further argued that the prosecution should first establish how the statement attributed to Ghauri was incorrect.

“You have not even questioned him about how the statement is incorrect,” Shafiq told the court.

Ghauri also informed the court that the investigating agency had possession of all his accounts, mobile phone and laptop.

The investigating officer (IO), however, informed the court that two-step verification was enabled on the journalist’s social media accounts, making it difficult for investigators to log in.

After hearing the arguments, the court extended Ghauri’s physical remand for two days and directed the NCCIA to produce him before the court again on September 12.

The case

The first information report (FIR) was registered on the state’s behalf through NCCIA Technical Assistant Muhammad Umair Warsi under Section 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person) and 26-A (dissemination of false and fake information) of Peca.

The FIR stated that Ghauri allegedly uploaded and disseminated content concerning the appointment of Nacta’s national coordinator.

“Prima facie, the material allegedly contained assertions and allegations concerning the process and circumstances relating to the appointment of the Nacta national coordinator,” the FIR stated.

It said an inquiry into the matter concluded that Ghauri had “intentionally created, uploaded, transmitted and disseminated the false narratives through social media platforms”.

The inquiry also found that the content was “false, misleading and presented without any lawful, factual or independently verifiable basis”, the FIR added.

According to Ghauri’s lawyer, the vlog in which his client was said to have made the remarks in question was uploaded on September 5, and he was arrested the same night.