The board of directors of South Asia Democracy Watch has recently condemned the verdict of Gilgit antiterrorism court to jail sentence Veena Malik for blasphemy, it has been reported.
The special meeting termed the court ruling as a threat to democracy and it was observed as a curb on freedom of speech and expression, the News reported.
The meeting was briefed by SDW media coordinator who said 75 FIRs were registered against the media group and court made the decision on the basis of a testimony by criminals.
Board of directors of SADeW stressed on protection of independent media as it is essential for a functioning democracy in any country.
The board was briefed that the host of the television program who was indicted for blasphemy had apologized 30 times on air and the media group even paid damages and penalties, however all these were ignored during the trials.
The Gilgit antiterrorism court announced their verdict against the owner editor in-chief of Jang group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, Geo talk show host Shaista Lodhi,Veena Malik, and her husband Asad Khatak.