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Is Dr Shakil Afridi being released?
28 Apr, 2018
SHARES
PESHAWAR: Pakistani prison authorities have moved the jailed doctor believed to have helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden, his attorney said on Saturday, speculating it could be a prelude to his release.
The continued imprisonment of Dr. Shakil Afridi has long been a source of tension between Pakistan and the United States, which cut military aid over accusations Pakistan continues to shelter Taliban militants fighting U.S. and Afghan soldiers across the border in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies allegations.
READ MORE: Why Intelligence officials shifted Dr Shakil Afridi to undisclosed location?
A jail official in the northwestern city of Peshawar told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Afridi had been transferred to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, but said the reasons were unclear and could simply be security-related.
Afridi’s lawyer, Qamar Nadeem, confirmed the transfer of his client but said he was not sure where he was now. Judicial officials could not be reached on Saturday, nor could embassy officials for the United States, which has for years called on Pakistan to release Afridi.
READ MORE: What made Canadian PM Justin Trudeau a big fan of Shahid Afridi?
Afridi was accused of treason after word spread he had helped the CIA collect genetic samples of the bin Laden family, paving the way for a U.S. Navy Seal raid in 2011 in the town of Abbottabad that killed the al Qaeda leader accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.
He was arrested days after the U.S. operation - which Pakistan called a violation of its sovereignty - and charged with aiding terrorists.
READ MORE: Why Shakil Afridi has been moved to undisclosed location?
Afridi was sentenced to 23 years’ jail for financing terrorism. That conviction was overturned in 2013, but he is still serving time for other terrorism-related convictions, his lawyer said.
He also faced a murder trial related to the death of a patient more than a decade ago.
However, the layer said Afridi had recently had his latest sentence reduced to seven years in a clemency action, and had served about that amount of time already.
“So I think he can be released very soon,” Nadeem told Reuters.
There were no other immediate indications of any release in the works, however. - Agencies
28 Apr, 2018
SHARES
PESHAWAR: Pakistani prison authorities have moved the jailed doctor believed to have helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden, his attorney said on Saturday, speculating it could be a prelude to his release.
The continued imprisonment of Dr. Shakil Afridi has long been a source of tension between Pakistan and the United States, which cut military aid over accusations Pakistan continues to shelter Taliban militants fighting U.S. and Afghan soldiers across the border in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies allegations.
READ MORE: Why Intelligence officials shifted Dr Shakil Afridi to undisclosed location?
A jail official in the northwestern city of Peshawar told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Afridi had been transferred to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, but said the reasons were unclear and could simply be security-related.
Afridi’s lawyer, Qamar Nadeem, confirmed the transfer of his client but said he was not sure where he was now. Judicial officials could not be reached on Saturday, nor could embassy officials for the United States, which has for years called on Pakistan to release Afridi.
READ MORE: What made Canadian PM Justin Trudeau a big fan of Shahid Afridi?
Afridi was accused of treason after word spread he had helped the CIA collect genetic samples of the bin Laden family, paving the way for a U.S. Navy Seal raid in 2011 in the town of Abbottabad that killed the al Qaeda leader accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.
He was arrested days after the U.S. operation - which Pakistan called a violation of its sovereignty - and charged with aiding terrorists.
READ MORE: Why Shakil Afridi has been moved to undisclosed location?
Afridi was sentenced to 23 years’ jail for financing terrorism. That conviction was overturned in 2013, but he is still serving time for other terrorism-related convictions, his lawyer said.
He also faced a murder trial related to the death of a patient more than a decade ago.
However, the layer said Afridi had recently had his latest sentence reduced to seven years in a clemency action, and had served about that amount of time already.
“So I think he can be released very soon,” Nadeem told Reuters.
There were no other immediate indications of any release in the works, however. - Agencies
