“Sohrab Barkat is the subject of blatantly abusive prosecutions designed to silence him. The relentless legal action against him reflects a strategy aimed at intimidating journalists through the use of the cybercrime law and the piling up of charges based on accusations that are clearly unfounded. RSF calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release Sohrab Barkat and to drop the baseless accusations against him.

Persecuted for more than a year without his knowledge

As he was about to board a flight to Brazil on 26 November 2025 to cover events organised in the wake of COP30, Sohrab Barkat, a 31-year-old journalist and YouTube host for the online outlet Siasat.pk, whose website was blocked in Pakistan in 2023 — was arrested at the airport in Islamabad, the country’s capital, by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), before being transferred to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Lahore, a city in the north-east of the country. According to RSF information obtained, he was the subject of two complaints, notably under Pakistan’s cybercrime law — the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) — accusations that he had never been made aware of.

A First Information Report (FIR) — a document prepared by the police — dated 26 August 2024, accuses him of “hate speech”, “defamation” and “cyberharassment” for criticising state institutions. A second FIR, filed on 5 August 2025, concerns an interview with a Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) activist and accuses him in particular of “cyberterrorism”, “defamation” and spreading “false information”.

While the journalist was in pre-trial detention, a third FIR was filed on 5 December by the NCCIA for “cyberterrorism”, “hate speech” and “false information” under PECA, this time in relation to posts linked to his coverage of protests in Kashmir and the nomination of human rights activist Mahrang Baloch for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

Although bail requests were granted in December 2025 in two of the cases, hearings relating to his bail application in the third case have been repeatedly postponed, arbitrarily extending his deprivation of liberty. On 22 December, the judge disqualified himself without giving any specific reason. On 26 December, the FIA failed to appear in court. The hearing was postponed to 5 January 2026, then to 21 January 2026. On 23 January, the judge had still not delivered a verdict.

The website Siasat.pk was blocked by the authorities in Pakistan in September 2023, but continues to publish in the country via its social media platforms. Due to the pressure it was under after Sohrab Barkat’s prolonged detention, the outlet announced the closure of its Islamabad bureau.