World News | Pak Court Acquits Czech Model in Drugs Smuggling Case

Lahore, Nov 1 (PTI) A Pakistani court here on Monday acquitted a 21-year-old female Czech fashion model in an alleged drug smuggling case.

The Lahore High Court admitted the appeal of Tereza Hluskova and acquitted her of heroin smuggling charges.

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A sessions court of Lahore in March, 2019 had sentenced the model to eight years and eight months in jail for making an attempt to smuggle heroin from Lahore airport to Abu Dhabi in 2018. A fine of 113,000 Pakistani rupees was also imposed on the model.

The LHC's division bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar announced a short order on the appeal of the foreign national.

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There were a total five suspects in this case. The trial court had acquitted a co-suspect Shoaib for lack of evidence and the three other co-suspects had been declared proclaimed offenders.

Tereza Hluskova was the only one who was handed down the jail term. According to the FIR, the Czech model tried to smuggle 8.5 kg heroin from Lahore airport to Abu Dhabi on Jan 10, 2018 but was intercepted by customs officials.

The trial court had sentenced her after the prosecution presented nine witnesses against her.

Before the LHC, Tereza's counsel Saiful Malook, who was also the lawyer of Christian woman Asia Bibi (who was convicted and later acquitted in a blasphemy), in the appeal told it she was convicted “beyond the merits of the case and without any concrete evidence against her.”

“The trial court solely relied upon the concocted story of the prosecution and ignored the facts of the case,” her lawyer said and requested the LHC to set aside the conviction and acquit her.

Admitting her plea, the LHC set aside the trial court's sentence and acquitted her of all charges.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)