An anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala sentenced on Saturday as many as 51 people to five-year prison terms following their conviction in the Gujranwala cantonment attack case on May 9 when violent protests broke out following former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case.

ATC Judge Natasha Naseem Sipra announced the sentence. The rioters were charged according to nine terms, a warrant of commitment on the sentence of the convicts said.

They were sentenced to five years each in jail on three terms while one year each in five terms. The court also imposed a fine of Rs10,000 for each of them.

Charges in the case included terrorism, murder, attempt to murder, possession of illegal arms, vandalism, and wounding government officers.

Statements of as many as 119 witnesses were recorded. Sup-inspector Mudassir Butt was the complainant in the case registered on May 10, 2023.

Sentences would run concurrently and the convicts would be entitled to the benefit of Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that the period of detention of a prisoner has to be considered in the prison term when a person is convicted by a trial court.

It means that the detention periods served so far will also be counted as a part of the prison terms announced and thus subtracted from the highest term of five years.

The warrant allowed the Gujranwala Central Jail superintendent to receive the convicts in his custody and execute the sentences by the law.

Over 100 civilians are under trial for their alleged role in attacks on army installations during the violence.