Ordered to pay £310,000 in damages including legal fees by 22 December and hold an apology post for 28 days
Major (retd) Adil Raja. SCREEN GRAB
In a major legal setback for YouTuber Adil Raja, a London High Court judge has ordered him to publicly apologize to retired Brigadier Rashid Naseer for defaming him. The apology must remain published on Raja’s X, Facebook, YouTube and official websites for 28 days, the judge ordered.
The court also ordered Raja to pay a total of £310,000 in damages and legal costs by 22 December. Of the amount, £50,000 is for compensation, while £260,000 covers legal fees. Additional legal costs to be determined later will also be his responsibility.
Raja is a YouTuber and a former Pakistani army officer, retired major, who has been accused by the state of anti-government propaganda.
The ruling was made by Judge Richard Spearman during a High Court hearing. Raja previously lost a defamation case brought against him in October this year and later tried to appeal the verdict, which the court has now rejected.
Brigadier Naseer had requested the court to issue an order regarding the October verdict. Justice Spearman has also issued an injunction preventing Adil Raja from publishing any further defamatory statements in the future.
Read more: Pakistan submits requests for extradition of Shehzad Akbar, Adil Raja to UK
Raja’s lawyer indicated that they plan to take the case to the Court of Appeal.
In the October verdict, the court had declared all allegations made by Raja against Brigadier Naseer as baseless. At the time, the court ordered Raja to publish a summary of the decision, acknowledging that his allegations were defamatory and that Brigadier General Naseer had won the case.
Brigadier General Naseer was present in court on Monday to hear the ruling, while Raja’s lawyers represented him.
The case arose when Raja accused Brigadier Naseer of taking control of the Lahore High Court, bribing politicians to rig elections, using the police to defeat PTI candidates and horse-trading on behalf of General Bajwa.
Naseer took legal action after ten allegedly defamatory posts by Raja were published on social media platforms X, Facebook and YouTube.
Last week, the Pakistan government submitted extradition documents for Shehzad Akbar and Raja to the British High Commissioner, requesting their immediate return. “These persons are wanted in Pakistan and should be extradited without delay,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said.
Naqvi held a meeting with British High Commissioner Jane Marriott where the two sides discussed Pakistan-UK relations, security cooperation and issues of mutual interest.
Akbar, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, served as an adviser to the now jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
