GUJRAT:
The number of deportees from Libya and Greece convicted of attempted illegal migration rose to 64 after a local court on Thursday convicted another man from Gujranwala as authorities pressed for a crackdown on human trafficking networks in central Punjab.
A special judge in Gujranwala convicted a deportee under Section 17(1) of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, which deals with illegal emigration.
The court sentenced him to the period already served in judicial custody and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000.
The latest ruling comes almost a month after around 200 Pakistanis, intercepted by Libyan authorities while trying to reach Italy by boat, were repatriated on two special flights with assistance from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Of them, about 90 belonged to the Gujranwala region, where the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) initiated prosecution through its circles in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot.
Over the past two weeks, special courts in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot have sentenced 64 deportees in summary trials after they admitted to crossing international borders illegally.
Most of those convicted were given jail terms ranging from 10 to 15 days along with fines ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000.
According to the courts’ rulings, the time already spent in custody, generally between 10 and 15 days, was counted towards the sentence, allowing the convicts to secure their release after paying the imposed fines.
The deportees were among at least 200 Pakistanis detained by Libyan authorities as they tried to board boats bound for Italy.
Around 90 of the deportees belonged to the Gujranwala region. The FIA registered cases against them through its Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot circles before presenting them to the relevant courts.
