The Islamabad High Court on Saturday directed the federal government to amend Section 22 of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 to increase convictions for child pornography from seven to 14 years that can be extended up to 20 years.

This was stated in a 24-page detailed judgement issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani in an appeal filed by child pornography convict Muhammad Shahzad Khaliq against his conviction for making nude videos of minors and seducing victims with intent to involve them in sexual activities on the basis on the objectionable videos.

The offender was also convicted under Section 506(ii) PPC for extending life threats.

The court dismissed Khaliq’s appeal against the verdict of a trial court which had sentenced him to: two-year imprisonment under Section 506 (i) of PPC (Punishment for criminal intimidation), five-year imprisonment under Section 292-A of PPC (Exposure to seduction) and 14-year imprisonment with a fine of Rs1 million under Section 292-C PPC (Punishment for child pornography).

In the detailed judgement, Justice Kayani was of the view that the punishment of child pornography under Peca and Sections 292-B and 292-C of the Pakistan Penal Code were in disharmony that “extends certain extraordinary benefit to the accused person”.

Therefore, “the federal government shall amend Section 22 of the Peca for enhancement of the sentence from seven years to the standards already held and fixed in the amended Act (XXVII of 2018) in which punishment under Section 292-C PPC for child pornography has been enhanced from seven years to 14 years, extended up to 20 years, with fine not less than Rs1 million. Such aspect will harmonize the sentences in two separate laws, though mentioned for somehow similar offences,” read the judgement.

In line with the standards settled in the international jurisdiction, Justice Kayani ordered to record the testimony of child victim through a special measure by using video conferencing, while the child shall remain in a conducive and protective environment, like home or any other separate facility, according to the case, to protect the rights of children.

By doing this the child victim shall not be “exposed to the accused person or the courts of law” and the victims shall not be in a “direct contact with the accused in a trial”.

In its verdict, the court ordered that if the evidence in child pornography cases is based on video, IT data, mobile data and information system and the available record is confirmed by the Forensic Science Agency through their report, there is no need to call child victims in the court.

However, “the State shall only ensure that a fair chance be given to the accused persons by confronting all the incriminating material, including the sexually exploited videos, images, etc, which is the minimum requirement of law, without any other direct witness, who is a victim in such type of cases,” read the judgement.

Justice Kayani ordered that in child pornography cases the “pornographic material shall not be displayed in the Court of law”.

In order to save dignity of the child victims and their families, the IHC ordered that “the trial court shall pass an order for elimination of all child pornographic data, images or videos at accessible to anyone from all sources and direction be also issued to the FIA as well as to the PTA to ensure that such data shall not be accessible in any information system”.

In its judgement, Justice Kayani ordered that child pornography offences should be considered “heinous in nature” and the court can consider that the sentences be run consecutively with other offences to protect the society at large from such type of crimes.

The child should be saved from humiliation and embarrassment during in camera trials of child pornography cases through keeping the irrelevant people and staff of the court outside the courtroom while recording the testimony of the child victims.

In Khaliq’s case, the police recovered a mobile phone with 22,800 pornographic images and 839 videos of hundreds of minors who had been sexually exploited by the convict.

This story was translated by Fatima Sheikh