Claim: The University of Hull invited Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Humayun Dilawar for judicial training on human rights and the rule of law in London.
Fact: The participants for the training programme, which has been running since 2014, are selected by their respective High Courts. The University of Hull clarified that it has no role in the selection of judges.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters criticised the British university for inviting Humayun Dilawar for a training workshop. The judge previously sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to three years in prison in the Toshakhana case on 5 August 2023.
According to a short order issued by ADSJ Humayun Dilawar, Khan hid, “the benefits he accrued from the national exchequer willfully and intentionally,” and, “cheated while providing information of gifts he obtained from Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate,” during his tenure from 2018 to 2022.
Fact or Fiction?
On 8 August 2023, Twitter user Dr Tahir Bannosay (@drtahir2014) claimed that the University of Hull invited Pakistani Judge Humayun Dilawar for a refresher course.
The judge was attending a judicial conference at the University of Hull from August 5 to 13, according to a report.
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be misleading. The University of Hull issued a statement clarifying that the University had no role in the selection of judges for the training workshop.
The statement reads that the university, “has been running human rights and the rule of law training for Pakistani judges since 2014. Participants for the training are selected by their respective High Courts. The current cohort has been selected by the Islamabad High Court, the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The University has no role in the selection of judges.”
Virality:
The claim can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here on Twitter.
Conclusion: The selection process for participants, including ADSJ Humayun Dilawar, has been managed by their respective High Courts, as confirmed by the University of Hull.