Convicts appeal against life sentences in SHC

Karachi: Four men convicted of murdering Geo News reporter journalist Wali Khan Babar filed appeals on Thursday in the Sindh High Court against their life sentences. Mohammad Shahrukh, 24, Faisal Mehmood, 45, Tahir Naveed Shah, 34, and Mohammad Ali Rizvi, 40, had been sentenced for life by an anti-terrorism court. The appellants’ counsel alleged the prosecution had failed to prove its charges against the men and there was no direct evidence against them. The trial court erred in its judgment by relying on the prosecution case, which could not be substantiated in the eyes of the law, he claimed. The high court was asked to set aside the convictions and to order the release of appellants if they were not involved in other cases. On February 28, the Shikarpur anti-terrorism court had also handed down death sentences to two absconding men, Kamran alias Zeeshan and Faisal. Another man, 44-year-old Mohammad Shakeel, was however acquitted by the court. Babar was shot dead on January 13, 2011, in Liaquatabad. The accused were arrested from Gulshan-e-Iqbal after a shootout. During interrogation, they confessed to their involvement in the murder. Police charged the defendants along with their absconding associates, Kamran alias Zeeshan, Junaid, Saeed, Liaquat and Faisal, that they had killed the reporter due to some enmity.

Source: The News