ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan’s Faisalabad on Friday sent Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza to jail for 10 years in a case relating to violent protests on May 9, 2023, Raza’s brother said.
Raza, a top aide of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, was convicted in the case along with several members of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on July 31 this year.
The riots erupted after Khan was briefly arrested in Islamabad on corruption charges on May 9, 2023, with his supporters attacking government buildings and military installations in several cities.
Thousands of PTI members and supporters were later detained and hundreds were charged under anti-terrorism laws in a sweeping crackdown, with some cases referred to military courts.
“He [Raza] was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the ATC on July 31 in 9th May cases and was arrested yesterday in Islamabad’s D-12 area while traveling from Peshawar to present himself before the court,” Raza’s brother, Hasan, told Arab News.
