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The UK High Court has mandated that YouTuber Major (retired) Adil Raja issue a public apology and pay approximately £310,000 in damages and legal expenses to Brigadier (Retired) Rashid Naseer, following a defamation case he lost this October.
Judge Richard Spearman KC made the ruling after a hearing at London’s High Court, where Raja attempted to appeal the original verdict. Naseer had requested that the court proceed with implementing the judgment in his favor.
Raja’s lawyer, Simon Harding, argued against the appeal, but Judge Spearman KC declined to grant leave for Raja’s appeal, criticizing his legal team for failing to engage with Naseer’s representatives on important issues.
The court ordered Raja to publicly apologize for his defamatory comments about Naseer. This apology must be displayed for 28 days across Raja’s Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube profiles, as well as on the homepage of his website. He is required to pay £50,000 in damages and £260,000 in legal costs upfront, with the remaining to be assessed later, all due by December 22, 2025. An injunction was also issued preventing Raja from repeating the false statements, and he was denied permission to appeal further.
In October, the court ruled that Raja defamed Naseer without evidence, made false accusations, and harmed his reputation. The court awarded Naseer £50,000 in damages, issued an injunction against Raja’s baseless claims, and ordered Raja to publish a summary confirming Naseer’s victory and the defamatory nature of his allegations.
Naseer attended the trial in July, was present for the judgment delivery, and was also present on Monday for the final court orders. Raja participated remotely, with his legal team present during the trial, but he was not physically present during the Monday hearing.
Raja has stated to Geo News that he plans to appeal the verdict at the Court of Appeal.
Naseer initiated his defamation lawsuit in August 2022, targeting ten posts published between June 14 and 29, 2022, on Raja’s social media platforms. The court found nine of these publications to be severely defamatory and damaging.
The judge concluded that Raja failed to substantiate his claims about his sources, citing his inconsistent testimony and lack of supporting records. As a result, Raja’s defense based on public interest was rejected.
Naseer was represented by Barrister David Lemer from Doughty Street Chambers, along with Ushrat Sultana and Sadia Qureshi of Stone White Solicitors. Raja’s side was represented by Barrister Simon Harding.
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