ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Seven people, including three journalists, two YouTubers, and two retired army officers, were sentenced to life imprisonment, in absentia, for inciting violence during riots in 2023 and spreading hatred against state institutions.

An anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, announced the verdict in Islamabad after completing the trials. None of the accused was present in court as they had all left the country to avoid arrest.

Those convicted include former editor Shaheen Sehbai; two other journalists, Sabir Shakir and Moeed Pirzada; YouTubers Wajahat Saeed Khan and Haider Raza Mehdi; and retired army officers Adil Raja and Akbar Hussain.

The charges against the men arose after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a corruption case and the violent unrest that followed in May 2023. Thousands of his supporters attacked military sites, set government property on fire, ransacked the home of a senior army officer, and damaged the state-run Radio Pakistan building.

Khan was also charged in 2024 with inciting violence against military and government targets, accusations he has denied. He was removed from office by political rivals through a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.

Prosecutors said the seven men encouraged violence during the May 9, 2023, riots, when protesters targeted military installations. This followed Khan's repeated claims that his ouster was the result of a conspiracy involving the United States and Pakistan's military.

The U.S. government, the Pakistani military, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan, have all denied those claims.

Sabir Shakir, a former host of a popular program on ARY TV who later left Pakistan, told The Associated Press on January 2 that he knew about his conviction. He said he was not in the country when police accused him of inciting mob violence.

Shakir called the verdict against him and the others politically motivated. He said he traveled to Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage to Mecca before the riots and later went to Britain, where he sought political asylum, fearing what he described as fabricated cases if he returned to Pakistan.

He said the court tried him and the others without hearing arguments from his lawyer and sentenced him in absentia to two life terms. The other convicted men were not immediately available for comment.

Under the court order, the seven men have seven days to appeal. Police were also instructed to arrest them and send them to prison if they return to Pakistan.

Human rights groups and journalists' unions say freedom of speech is shrinking in Pakistan, with increasing restrictions on the media. Sharif's government says it supports free speech but insists that journalists and YouTubers must follow basic ethical and professional standards.