The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reserved its ruling on the petition filed by US citizen Cynthia D Ritchie challenging the decision to register a case against her by the authorities, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the case on Monday while Cynthia Ritchie was present in the courtroom along with her lawyer Imran Feroz.
It is pertinent to note that a lower court in Islamabad had ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to register a case against US blogger Cynthia Ritchie who has levelled rape and harassment allegations against the PPP leadership.
Additional District and Sessions Judge (ASJ) Jahangir Awan directed the FIA to register a case against the US blogger on a petition filed by PPP Islamabad President Shakeel Abbasi.
The petition stated that Ms Ritchie had made baseless allegations against ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a case should be registered against her.
During Saturday’s hearing, Ritchie’s lawyer had asked the court not to file the case. The FIA and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had requested the court to dismiss the plea against the US blogger. The FIA had told the court that the petitioner was not the targeted victim or guardian of the victim so the agency could not lodge a complaint. On the other hand, the counsel for the petitioner argued that due to the nature of tweets, the PPP was the aggrieved party. To this, the court asked why the heirs of late Benazir Bhutto were not lodging a complaint.
In a tweet, US blogger Ritchie had levelled serious allegations against the former premier Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari.
When Pakistan People’s Party retaliated with full force against the US blogger, she responded with serious allegations against the PPP’s top leadership including another former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani.
Cynthia D Ritchie is an American woman who claims to be an adventurist, self-claimed filmmaker, and blogger. The 38-year-old blogger describes herself as a global citizen.