Osama Rizi, son of a journalist Rizwan-ur-Rehman Razi, displays a calendar with the pictures of his father outside his residence in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Pakistani authorities detained a rights activist who led a protest and a journalist Razi who allegedly criticized state agencies on traditional and social media, officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
February 10, 2019 - 5:35 AM
LAHORE, Pakistan - A defence lawyer says a Pakistani journalist arrested by federal authorities for allegedly criticizing state agencies on social media has been released on bail.
Attorney Ejaz Basra says the court in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday denied a federal prosecutor's request that Rizwan-ur-Rehman Razi be held without bail. Instead, the court released Razi on a bond of about $730.
Federal Investigation Agency officials arrested Razi at his Lahore residence on Saturday. He was booked for tweeting against state agencies.
Journalists and press freedom advocates say the military and its agencies are pressuring media outlets to quash critical coverage. The government also is coming heavy on social media, pressuring newspapers and TV stations by slashing their advertising revenue, squeezing a key source of income for local media.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019