Karachi court sentences Jami to two years in defamation case

KARACHI: An additional sessions court in Karachi on Tuesday sentenced filmmaker Jamshed Mahmood Raza, widely known as Jami, to two years in prison for defaming fellow director Sohail Javed in a 2019 case. Jami’s lawyer confirmed that he has been taken to Karachi Central Jail to serve his sentence.

The controversy stemmed from a letter Jami read out at the Lahooti Melo, a festival in Jamshoro centreed on the #MeToo movement, which he later shared on his Facebook page. The letter, written by an anonymous sexual assault survivor, accused a prominent figure in the entertainment industry of misconduct but did not explicitly name the alleged perpetrator.

However, Javed claimed that the letter contained indirect references that led social media users to speculate he was the accused. He argued that Jami failed to stop the speculation or clarify the matter, causing significant harm to his reputation.

Allegations and legal battle

Javed asserted that the letter included identifiable details, such as describing the accused as a “music video and TVC director,” mentioning his appearance as a panelist at a Hyderabad festival, and referencing his son’s involvement in the same profession as the survivor. These clues, Javed claimed, led the public to believe he was the subject of the accusation.

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The legal battle began in February 2019 when Javed sent Jami a legal notice demanding an unconditional public apology. When Jami refused, Javed filed a defamation lawsuit, seeking PKR500 million in damages and another PKR500 million for mental distress, along with the removal of the contentious posts.

Jami’s defence and court’s verdict

Jami denied the defamation charges, stating that the letter was given to him by Lahooti Melo organisers and that he was unaware of its contents before reading it. His legal team argued that he had no malicious intent and that he removed the post and deactivated his Facebook account once Javed’s name surfaced in the comments.

However, the court found Jami’s defence lacking, noting that he failed to produce the letter’s author, communicate with the event organisers, or provide evidence that he was unaware of the letter’s implications. The judgment also highlighted that Jami did not take sufficient steps to correct the misidentification once it spread online.

Additional Sessions Judge ruled that Jami’s actions exacerbated the damage to Javed’s reputation. The court convicted him under Section 500 (defamation) of the Pakistan Penal Code, sentencing him to two years in prison and a fine of Rs10,000.

In December 2019, Jami also alleged that Dawn CEO Hameed Haroon had sexually assaulted him in 2006 which was categorically rejected by Haroon.