GUJRAT:
The number of deportees from Libya and Greece convicted of attempting to migrate illegally has risen to 64 after a local court sentenced another man from Gujranwala on Thursday, as authorities pressed ahead with a broad crackdown on human smuggling rings across central Punjab.
A special central 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 sentence comes almost a month after some 200 Pakistanis, intercepted by Libyan authorities when trying to reach Italy by boat, were repatriated on two special flights with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Of them, around 90 belonged to the Gujranwala region, where the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) initiated prosecutions through its circles in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot.
Over the past two weeks, special courts in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot have convicted 64 deportees in summary trials after they admitted to illegally crossing international borders.
Most of those convicted received prison terms of between 10 and 15 days, along with fines of between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000.
According to court rulings, the time already spent in judicial custody, generally between 10 and 15 days, was counted towards the sentence, allowing those convicted to obtain their freedom after paying the fines imposed.
The deportees were among at least 200 Pakistanis detained by Libyan authorities as they tried to board ships bound for Italy.
Around 90 of those deported belonged to the Gujranwala region. The FIA registered cases against them through its Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot circles before submitting them to the relevant courts.
