MUMBAI - A Pakistani court in has sentenced notorious militant commander Hafiz Saeed to prison terms in two cases of terrorism funding. The man is considered to be the mastermind of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Wednesday slapped Saeed with two prison sentences of five years and six months, which he will be allowed to serve concurrently. He was also ordered to pay small fines in each case. The guilty verdict in both cases was received last Thursday, the newspaper Dawn reported.
Saeed was arrested in July last year, and put on trial for using donations collected through various non-profit organizations under his control to finance Islamist militancy. One of the recipients was the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group behind the November 2008 bomb and gun raid on Mumbai in which over 150 people were killed and more than 300 injured. Saeed denies any involvement in the Mumbai attacks. His charity network, he insists, has no ties to any militant groups. The man had been indicted in December last year, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial is part of a wider anti-terrorism crackdown, encompassing 23 separate cases. Several close aides of Saeed are under prosecution too. (RT)