MQM supremo acquitted of terror charges by London Court

MQM supremo and founder has been acquitted of terror charge by London Court on Tuesday.

He has been acquitted of  charges of encouraging terrorism, contrary to section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006.

The prosecution’s statement rested on two speeches made by the MQM founder on August 22, 2016 in which he first allegedly ordered crowds to assemble and later told them to charge the Sindh Rangers headquarters, as well as offices of the some private television channels.

The prosecution said that the MQM founder made telephone calls to different people in his party from his London office and railed against the situation he and the MQM were in. “His invitation to them was to gather, and in due course, to take action”.

But the prosecution has failed to prove these charges against the MQM supremo .

It is pertinent to mention here that arguments in the case of the MQM supremo on the charge of the encouraging terrorism concluded at the Kingston-upon-Thames crown court on February 12, 2022.

The jury retired to deliberate whether the MQM supremo should be convicted or acquitted of a terror charge.

The indictment has been split into two separate counts, both relating to the offence of “encouraging terrorism”, contrary to section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006. The counts relate to two different speeches made by the MQM founder on Aug 22, 2016, which form the basis of the case.

Although it was initially expected that Mr Hussain would take the stand, ultimately his counsel shared with the court that he decided against it.

Mrs Justice May said that Mr Hussain’s decision was his right and that the jury could conclude that he did not give evidence at trial to undermine and contradict his speeches.

“You can conclude that Mr Hussain did not have an answer to the prosecution’s case, but you cannot convict him on silence, as the prosecution has to prove guilt in order for you to come to that conclusion,” she said.