Protesters throw a rubbish bin during an anti-immigration protest in Britain. | Photo credit: Reuters
Pakistani police have arrested a man and charged him with cyber terrorism for his alleged role in spreading disinformation that led to widespread riots in Britain earlier this month, a senior police investigator said on Wednesday (21 August 2024).
“The suspect was identified as Farhan Asif (32), a freelance web developer,” said Imran Kishwar, deputy inspector general of investigations in Lahore, the capital of the eastern province of Punjab.
Explained | What sparked the far-right riots in Britain?
The man is accused of spreading misinformation from YouTube and Facebook about the British teenage suspect in a stabbing that left three girls dead and 10 other people injured at a dance class in northwest England on July 29, 2024.
The false information claimed that the suspect was a recently arrived asylum seeker and had a name that suggested the teenager was Muslim.
After misinformation led to a violent mob attacking a mosque near the scene of the stabbing the next day, police took the unusual step of clarifying that the suspect was born in Britain. It has been widely reported in the British media that his parents are from Rwanda and said they have a Christian faith.
Also read: King Charles III ends silence on far-right riots in Britain
Channel3 Now, an account on the social media platform According to a Facebook account for the channel, it is run by people in Pakistan and the US
The site’s editor-in-chief posted an apology on July 31 for “the misleading information published in a recent article on our website, Channel 3 Now. We deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”
But the false reports were widely spread and are blamed for the more than week-long riots that broke out in the United Kingdom and led to more than a thousand arrests.
Also read: Britain faces worst riots in 13 years, spurred by far-right agitators
Authorities have blamed far-right agitators for fueling the violent unrest by continuing to spread disinformation and promoting the violent demonstrations online.
At a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore, police said: “Asif was arrested at his home in the city for questioning.”
He said Asif has claimed he was not the source of the misinformation but reposted it on social media.
The police have transferred the case to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which handles cases related to cyber terrorism. It was unclear whether Britain had requested his extradition.
