A UK court on Tuesday found MQM supremo Altaf Hussain not guilty on two counts in the incitement to violence trial.
A majority verdict of 10-2 was returned by jurors at the Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court on the third day of deliberations.
The jury was directed to reach a majority decision after failing to reach a unanimous verdict. After nine hours, the jury found Hussain to be not guilty.
Hussain was charged with “encouraging terrorism” in an incendiary speech relayed from the United Kingdom to his followers in Pakistan on Aug 22, 2016. He was arrested and released on bail before charges were filed in 2019, three years after Scotland Yard launched an investigation into speeches made in the UK that allegedly encouraged violence in Karachi.
Hussain had pleaded not guilty to the charge filed under Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2006.
The indictment had been split into two separate counts, both relating to the offence of “encouraging terrorism”, contrary to section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006.
