District and Sessions Courts Islamabad sentenced Umar Hayat to death after being found guilty in the case of the murder of TikToker Sana Yusuf.
Additional Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka decided the case.
The court sentenced the accused to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of 2 million rupees under the robbery charge and 10 years imprisonment under the house breaking provisions.
Earlier, an important development came during the hearing of the case, where Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka recorded the statement of accused Umar Hayat under Section 342.
At the beginning of the hearing, public prosecutor Raja Naveed Hussain Kayani appeared in the court, while the judge asked the accused various questions. Initially, the accused refused to answer most of the questions, including his age, and took the stand that he would not make any statement without the presence of his lawyer. The court clarified that the statement of Section 342 is a direct conversation between the judge and the accused and the presence of a lawyer is not necessary.
The court questioned the accused whether he rented a car in the name of Omar Hayat, whether he went to Sana Yusuf’s house, whether he opened fire, took the mobile phone and fled from the scene, however the accused continued to excuse the absence of the lawyer.
Later, the accused’s lawyers arrived in the courtroom, after which questions were asked again. Meanwhile, the court expressed its strong displeasure over video making in the courtroom and issued clear instructions that no video or tiktok will be allowed inside the court.
In the presence of the lawyer Safai, the accused stated his age as 23 years old, however, completely denying involvement in the murder, saying that he neither came to Islamabad, nor does he know Sana Yusuf, nor does he have anything to do with the case. He took the position that the car rental agreement was fake and was prepared to strengthen the prosecution’s case.
The accused further claimed that he was arrested on June 3 from Jardanwala only on the basis of suspicion, the police took him to the police station, made videos of him and made them viral. Accordingly, Sana Yusuf’s family was also pressured to identify him as an accused.
Umar Hayat also denied his alleged confession saying that he had no knowledge about it and he never confessed to the murder.
The murder of Sana Yusuf received wide attention on social media, as she was a well-known TikToker. In the initial investigation, it was claimed to have access to the accused through his mobile phone, suspicious contacts, forensic evidence and alleged rental car, however, the defense is constantly questioning the credibility of the evidence.
The ongoing hearing in the court has entered the case in a new phase, where important legal points will be discussed based on the positions of both the prosecution and the defense.
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