Man convicted for sharing unwell wife’s explicit photos on Whatsapp

A local court in Karachi has sentenced a man to nine years in prison for sharing explicit images of his cancer-stricken wife on WhatsApp.

The court declared Syed Faizan guilty of the offences under Sections 20 (dignity of natural person), 21 (modesty of natural person and minor), 24 (cyberstalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and awarded him three-year imprisonment on every offence.

Additionally, Faizan was fined Rs90,000. In case of default, the convict will have to undergo an additional three-month imprisonment.

Observations of the court

“This action [of the accused] aimed at shaming and blackmailing the victim and her family, underscores the accused’s intent to exert psychological pressure and manipulate the victim, especially during a vulnerable period in her life when she was battling cancer,” the court observed.

The judge stressed that the impact on the victim and her family had been profound, causing emotional distress, reputational damage and further deteriorating the victim’s already deteriorating health.

The court also observed that the motive of the accused behind sharing these photos is “appeared to be rooted in a pattern of control, exploitation, and intimidation directed towards the victim”.

“After their marriage, the accused consistently demanded money and misappropriated the victim’s dowry, including substantial amounts of cash and gold. Abusive behaviour intensified over time, culminating in the accused’s deliberate act of sharing explicit images of the victim with her brother,” the judgment noted.

In her testimony in court, the victim stated that she got married in 2019; however, her husband’s behaviour was abusive. She also claimed that the accused demanded dowry, including Rs500,000 in cash and 30 tolas of gold. After she confronted him, the accused further threatened her with maltreatment while she was battling cancer. In February 2022, the victim left her husband’s house and returned to her parents’ home.

The brother of the victim lodged a complaint against his brother-in-law.

The complainant informed the FIA Cyber Crime Cell that in March 2022, he had received obscene images of his sister on his WhatsApp number sent by Faizan to harm the reputation of his family and to blackmail him and his sister. Consequently, the FIA team apprehended him and seized his mobile phone, in which obscene material was found.

While the victim’s lawyer stated in court that no consistency has been found in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses and that the forensic report matched the ocular version of the complainant and his witnesses. The report clearly showed the transmission of explicit images from the accused to the complainant (then deleted).

However, the defence counsel contended that the complainant falsely implicated his client in this case while the images in the forensic report were blurry.

However, the court rejected the defence plea and noted that the defence failed to produce evidence to support its claims.