ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Pakistani man to three years in prison and fined him SR10,000 (Rs0.54 million) for sharing online a video of sloganeering by a group of people at the Prophet's Mosque, the Pakistani foreign office said on Friday.
Videos shared online in late April showed people chanting slogans against Pakistani Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Minister for Narcotics Control Shahzain Bugti while they visited the mosque. The politicians were part of a delegation led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on an official visit to the kingdom. It was widely believed that the protesters were supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, ousted that month in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.
Madinah police arrested at least five Pakistani nationals for “abusing and insulting” the visiting delegation, while police in Pakistan registered cases against Khan, and members of his political party for "deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious sentiment" and "disturbing religious assembly and abetment."
Pakistan’s foreign office on Friday confirmed that a Pakistani national, Tahir Malik, was sentenced in Saudi Arabia for sharing the video of the incident.
"We have been informed by our mission in Saudi Arabia, this person Tahir Malik was indicted on account of uploading of the video on social media of the incident that took place in the Masjid-e-Nabvi," FO spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Friday.
"He was awarded three years’ imprisonment and also a fine of SR10,000."
Ahmad clarified Malik was not one of the Pakistani citizens apprehended by the Madinah police for chanting slogans, but he was charged "on account of using social media prejudice to the public order against the local laws."
Last week, the Pakistan Ulema Council also urged Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to abide by the “code of conduct” prescribed by Saudi Arabia and not violate the rules of the kingdom.
“During the Hajj days, do not try to establish a political arena in Saudi Arabia and especially in Makkah, Madinah, Mina and Arafat and do not be a part of any such effort,” it said in a statement.
“Pilgrims should pay attention to worship and avoid to become part of any political and sectarian debates and gatherings.”
