An exiled political blogger on Friday accused Pakistan of plotting to kill a potential killer after he was convicted in a British court.
Supermarket worker Muhammed Gohir Khan, 31, was convicted of conspiring to kill Ahmad Waqass Goraya after being recruited by an intermediary apparently based in Pakistan.
A judge in Kingston-upon-Thames, southwest London, adjourned the case on March 11, with Khan facing life in prison.
Khan, from east London, was charged last June with conspiring with other unknown people to murder Goraya in the Netherlands.
He was arrested after returning to the UK by train.
Goraya, an outspoken blogger and liberal activist who has lived outside Pakistan for more than a decade, did not attend the hearing.
He said after the verdict that he was “pleased that there was at least a new precedent: ‘If you hunt down exiles, you will be prosecuted’.”
However, he said he was disappointed that the trial did not identify the perpetrators.
“I hope the real people who sent these people will one day be prosecuted as well,” he told AFP.
“I’m sure it’s the Pakistani government,” he said, pointing to the amount involved and what the mastermind knew about his secret location.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the sentence “could serve as a landmark sentence” and “a rare step in establishing criminal responsibility for transnational crimes against journalists”.
RSF UK director Rebecca Vincent said: “We call on the relevant authorities to continue their investigation to identify the intermediaries and anyone else involved in this horrific conspiracy and to ensure full criminal justice.”
Prosecutor Alison Morgan said Golaya, who lives in the Netherlands with his wife and two children, appeared to be targeted for his satirical social media posts against the Pakistani government and military.
She told the jury that Khan was employed by “other people who appear to be in Pakistan”.
In 2018, the court was told that Golaya had received information from the FBI saying he was on a “kill list” and believed that some of the threats he received were led and orchestrated by Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.
The jury heard that Khan was contacted by a Pakistani middleman named Muzi who promised to pay £100,000 ($137,000, €120,000) for the “job”, of which he would cut £20,000 GBP.
He also promises wealth in “Jannah” or paradise.
Khan received thousands of pounds from a Pakistani bank account and promised: “Brother, I’ll do it.”
The court heard at the time his debts totalled more than £200,000.
British police liaised with Dutch authorities to build a dossier of his encrypted communications with the intermediary on WhatsApp and Signal, as well as security camera footage of his movements.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
