- A 12-member jury decides whether Altaf Hussain is guilty of violating Britain’s counter-terrorism laws on 22 August 2016.
- “There will be no surrender, no withdrawal. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Hussain says.
- Justice May instructs jurors to withdraw tomorrow (Tuesday) and return with a unanimous verdict.
LONDON: The terrorism trial of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) supremo Altaf Hussain has been suspended again on Monday night to continue Tuesday’s deliberations.
The arguments of both the defense and the prosecution had ended early Friday, and then Justice May had instructed the jurors to retire and return with a unanimous verdict on whether or not the MQM founder had committed two offenses. under the UK Terrorism Act 2006. The jury withdrew on Friday without reaching a verdict.
On Monday, a 12-member jury at Kingston Crown Court deliberated the case before Mrs Justice May to adjudicate on whether Hussain violated UK counter-terrorism laws on 22 August 2016 when he delivered two speeches from London in which he expressed his followers in Karachi.
Altaf Hussain has spoken to media out of court almost daily. Speaking to this correspondent, he said he was “ready for any kind of result”.
He said Monday morning: “There will be no surrender, no withdrawal. I have done nothing wrong, I have apologized for the anti-Pakistani slogans uttered during the protest, but I will never apologize for what I have done to try and raise the issues of Muhajirs. I stand behind everything I’ve said.”
Hussain was charged with two charges of encouraging terrorism in violation of Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006. These relate to two speeches Hussain delivered on August 22 – the first in the morning (UK time) and the second in the afternoon (British time) – in which he was alleged by the Crown to have broadcast speeches addressing the crowd gathered in Karachi.
Hussain has denied all allegations. The prosecution says he incited violence in Karachi during his two speeches six years ago. The judge has instructed the jury that the UK standard applies in Altaf Hussain’s case, not Pakistan’s.
