By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan’s former prime minister and PPP leader Yousuf Raza Gilani has sent a legal notice to American blogger Cynthia Ritchie, asking for an apology and withdrawal of the “false” and “frivolous” allegation that he “physically manhandled” her.
This was revealed by the former premier’s sons — Ali Haider and Kasim — on Twitter, English newspaper, Daily Dawn reported.
“My father Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani through his lawyer has sent a legal notice of defamation to Cynthia D. Ritchie which she will soon receive. The libel will cost her Rs100 million if she fails to prove otherwise,” Ali wrote.
The legal notice, a copy of which was shared by Kasim on his Twitter account, accuses Ritchie of levelling a “false, frivolous, baseless and vexatious” allegation against the former prime minister.
Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani has sent a defamation notice to Ms Cynthia D Ritchie. pic.twitter.com/0VvQeuaYBN
— Kasim Gilani (@KasimGillani) June 10, 2020
The notice says that Gilani is “considered a role model and followed by a great number of persons around the world”, adding that he has great respect for women and has “always spoke[n] for their rights”.
“The wording used by you (Ritchie) clearly falls within the ambit and purview of libel,” it says, adding that due to her allegation, “the honesty, righteousness, culpability and credibility” of Gilani was “questioned”.
Gilani, through the notice, has demanded from Ritchie Rs100m in damages, along with an apology and court and attorney’s fees.
“Any further publication/communication/circulation of these defamatory allegations will only expose you (Ritchie) to greater legal penalties,” the notice sent through his lawyer says.
Ritchie had last week accused Gilani of “physically manhandling” her while he was staying at the “President’s House”.
Soon after, the former prime minister had denied the allegations in a statement and later said he would file a defamation suit against the blogger, claiming she had “violated [his] respect by making such unfounded allegations”.
According to Gilani, he had “never even met” Ritchie when he was the premier.
Ritchie, who was at the centre of a controversy last month when she tweeted what the PPP described as “derogatory and slanderous remarks” about Bhutto, had also accused PPP Senator Rehman Malik of raping her in a live video posted on her Facebook page.
Malik has since sent two legal notices to the blogger through his lawyer, asking for a public apology and withdrawal of rape allegations within 15 days.
Malik sends Ritchie second defamation notice for baseless allegations on TV – https://t.co/m5c4X6wh2Q
— Senator Rehman Malik (@SenRehmanMalik) June 9, 2020
PPP Senator Rehman Malik on Tuesday sent a second legal notice to Pakistan-based American blogger Cynthia Ritchie, asking for an “unqualified public apology” and withdrawal of the “false, bogus and malicious” statements that she made during her June 7 appearances on two TV talk shows.
Ritchie had last week accused Malik of raping her in Islamabad in 2011, and stood by her allegations during subsequent interviews.
Earlier on Sunday, Malik had sent a legal notice to the blogger through his lawyer, asking for a public apology and withdrawal of rape allegations within 15 days.
The senator’s second legal notice, accuses Ritchie of making “false, bogus and malicious” statements about Malik raping her during her appearances on two talk shows on June 7 — anchorperson Muhammad Malick’s Breaking Point with Malick and Geo TV’s Naya Pakistan hosted by Shehzad Iqbal.
In a series of tweets, Ritchie responded to Malik’s second legal notice by noting that she never received the first one and that she looks forward to facing Malik in court.
She said that Rs50 billion “could do a lot of poverty alleviation and rape prevention/representation programmes”.
