An individual was charged with cyberterrorism-related offenses in Pakistan on Wednesday for his alleged role in spreading incorrect information that contributed to nationwide anti-immigration rioting in the United Kingdom earlier this month.
Authorities identified the suspect as Farhan Asif, a 32-year-old web developer from Lahore and employee of the news aggregation service Channel3Now.
Police contend that Asif was responsible for publishing materials on Facebook, YouTube, and X that claimed the brutal knife murder of three young British girls in Southport on July 29 was committed by a 17-year-old asylum seeker with Islamist motivations.
Officials in the U.K. contradicted claims about the alleged assailant, revealing that he was actually born in Wales to Rwandan migrants, after violent protests erupted at a local mosque the day following the attack.
The disturbances, lasting more than a week, occurred in numerous locations throughout England and Northern Ireland and resulted in the arrests of more than 1,000 demonstrators.
Related Story: British Police Make More Than 1,000 Arrests Following Anti-Immigration Riots
