PETALING JAYA: Pakistani journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah has been released from prison in his home country after he was detained for more than six months following his deportation from Malaysia last August.
Fawad’s lawyer, Imaan Hazir, said her client was released from a jail in Peshawar last night after a court in Islamabad granted him bail pending the disposal of a case against him under the country’s internet laws.
Pakistan is believed to have detained Fawad on accusations of “defamation”, “intimidation” of officials, and posting “false, frivolous and fake information” online.
Fawad’s wife Syeda told FMT she is elated to be united with him again after assuming the worst following his deportation.
“I have become even closer to my husband after this incident… but we are afraid that the intelligence officers (in Pakistan) may make him disappear again,” she said.
“Because of this, my heart remains heavy. If there is a knock at the door, I am afraid that someone has come to pick Fawad up.”
Fawad, who has UNHCR refugee status, had been in Malaysia since 2011 after he alleged that he was being persecuted over articles published in several English dailies in Pakistan related to purported government corruption.
He went missing last August after continuing to write articles critical of the Pakistani government which were published in dailies in his home country.
Malaysian authorities later revealed that Fawad had been deported to Pakistan to face “disciplinary issues” when he was a policeman, a claim denied by his family as they said Fawad was never a cop. - FMT
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