KARACHI, Sept 29: An anti-terrorism court sentenced on Saturday three men to life imprisonment for kidnapping a Yemeni businessman for ransom.

Hakim Ali, Rashid, and Shaukat Ali were found guilty of kidnapping Abul Qaid Batiq in the Defence Housing Authority and demanding a ransom for his release.

The court also held all the accused accountable for carrying unlicensed weapons and awarded five-year imprisonment to each.

Judge Khalida Yasin of ATC-II pronounced the verdict after recording evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

The court in its verdict observed that the complainant in his statement, recorded by a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code, testified against them and identified them as accused in the case.

The magistrate supported the statement of the complainant while other prosecution witnesses also corroborated his version, it stated and added that the captive was recovered from the custody of the accused.

The court ruled that the case against the accused had been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.

According to the prosecution, the victim came to Karachi on a business trip in May 2008 and since he was a stranger here, someone asked him to meet Jan Mohammad Baloch alias Murad Jan Baloch, said to be an Iran-based businessman, for help.

But instead of helping, Mr Baloch with the help of his accomplices abducted the Yemeni national in the DHA when the victim went to meet him and demanded $20 million for his release, it added.

The prosecution further said that the accused persons kept the captive in different places and extorted money from him. On March 18, 2010, acting on a tip-off, a police party of the Gulshan-i-Maymar police station carried out a raid and arrested the present accused and recovered the kidnapped Yemeni national from their custody and also found illicit weapons in the custody of the accused.

A case (FIR 73/10) was registered under Sections 365-A (kidnapping for extorting property etc) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Gulshan-i-Maymar police station on a complaint of the SHO.

The accused were also booked under Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance.

Acting on a lead given by the detained accused, the police also raided the bungalow of Jan Baloch in the DHA and detained gatekeepers Hasan and Noor Hasan.

However, the investigating officer released them during the investigation under Section 169 (release of accused when evidence deficient) of the CrPC since the complainant did not implicate them in his testimony recorded by a magistrate.

Jan Mohammad Baloch, said to be the prime accused, Moosa and Yahya were the absconding accused in the case.