Earlier today, FMT reported that Fawad has been found alive in a jail in his home country, ending a frantic six-month search by his wife, Syeda.
Fawad, who wrote articles critical of the Pakistani government, went missing last August, and Malaysian authorities later revealed that he had been deported to Pakistan.
RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk head Daniel Bastard said Fawad, who has been detained in Pakistan for posting “false, frivolous and fake information” online, is being held on “unsubstantiated charges”.
He also said Fawad’s alleged defamation and intimidation of officials is supported by “absolutely no legally valid evidence”.
“(This) means this journalist should not be in a prison,” said Bastard in a statement.
“Furthermore, according to the latest information available to us, his state of health is quite alarming after six months in prison.
“To respect the rule of law and on humanitarian grounds, we urge Pakistani interior minister Rana Sanaullah Khan to order his immediate and unconditional release and to allow him to leave Pakistan.”
Fawad, who has UNHCR refugee status, had been in Malaysia since 2011 after being persecuted over his writing critical of the Pakistani government.
RSF said Pakistani counter-espionage agencies had been trying to repatriate Fawad since he obtained a UNHCR refugee status in 2014.
Fawad disappeared from Malaysia last August, prompting Syeda to search for him in Kuala Lumpur but to no avail. She then returned to Pakistan, where authorities also claimed to be unaware of his whereabouts.
Malaysian authorities later revealed that Fawad had been deported to Pakistan as he was allegedly wanted for disciplinary issues when he was a policeman. Syeda, however, denied the claim, saying he was never a policeman.
FMT also reported that Fawad’s lawyer, P Waytha Moorthy said his whereabouts became known after Pakistani authorities called his family to confirm that he was being held at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, after they initially denied that Fawad was in Pakistan.
Syeda met him at the jail on Feb 8 and claimed he had signs of physical abuse.
She also claimed that Fawad was suffering from “psychiatric issues” as a result of being placed in an “underground dark room cell” since Aug 26 last year.