LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday granted post-arrest bail to PTl social media activist Sanam Javed in a case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and ordered her release.

Justice Farooq Haider heard the activist`s bail plea and accepted it, directing her to submit surety bonds worth Rs500,000.

Sanam Javed had filed the petition seeking release on bail, stating that the FIA had registered a baseless case against her. The petition further contended that an additional district and sessions judge wrongly rejected her bail plea, ignoring the actual facts of the case. The petition asked the LHC to release the petitioner on bail.

The FIA cybercrime wing had registered a case against Sanam for sharing hate-inciting posts against the heads of state institutions.

Denying bail to the activist on May 20, the additional district and sessions judge observed that the evidence presented by the prosecution showed that the petitioner uploaded defamatory/derogatory contents on social media accounts against public functionaries, including the army chief, Pakistan army, and the prime minister. He noted that in most of the posts, the petitioner targeted the army just to defame the institution.

He said the report of forensic analysis established that the petitioner was, prima facie, linked with the offence. Staff Reporter