Pakistani Student Jailed for Learning Bomb-Making Online

In Pakistan, an anti-terrorism court sentenced university student Hannan Abdullah to a two-and-a-half-year prison term for researching bomb-making on social media sites. Abdullah, a University of Narowal human resource studies student, was monitored by international and local authorities for engaging with suspicious online users. Despite his defense of mere curiosity, he was fined and convicted.

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced Hannan Abdullah, a university student, to two years and six months in jail for researching how to make bombs on social media platforms.

Judge Manzer Ali Gill of Lahore's ATC also imposed a fine of PKR 50,000 on Abdullah, a human resources student, who was detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in 2022 for allegedly searching bomb-making information on social media.

The prosecution claimed Abdullah, using the Instagram handle 'Ibn-e-Abdullah Al-Pakistani', communicated with an Iraq-based account and received guidance on creating explosives. Despite his claim of mere curiosity, Abdullah was arrested and subsequently sentenced following FBI collaboration.

(With inputs from agencies.)