A court in Pakistan has again postponed the trial of a doctor, Shakil Afridi, who has been languishing in jail since Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seals in 2011.
Afridi reportedly used a vaccination scam to identify bin Laden's home in the garrison town of Abbottabad. He was taken into custody on May 23, 2011, 20 days after bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, was killed. The raid embarrassed many in Pakistan, souring bilateral ties with the United States.
On September 24, the Peshawar High Court said the case would resume on September 30.
Qamar Nadeem, Afridi’s lawyer, told RFE/RL on September 24 that the trial has already been postponed 16 times because the government prosecutor failed to show up.
Afridi was never charged in connection with the bin Laden operation but for allegedly aiding -- both medically and financially -- Lashkar-e-Islam militants in the nearby Khyber tribal region.
His family has denied the charges and said the only money Afridi ever gave Lashkar-e-Islam was a ransom payment worth the equivalent of $6,000 to secure his own release after the militant group kidnapped him in 2008.
He was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a tribal court, although this was later reduced to 23 years on appeal. Afridi is imprisoned in a jail in Pakistan’s eastern Sahiwal district. His lawyer says Afridi faces severe restrictions in jail.
Pakistani officials described bin Laden’s long presence in Abbottabad as a security lapse and rejected any suggestion that members of the military or intelligence services were complicit in hiding him.
Trial In Pakistan Again Postponed For Doctor Who Allegedly Helped Locate Bin Laden
Editor's Picks
Subscribe
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
Afghanistan, The Only Country Where Images Of Living Things Are Banned
2'The Taliban Likes Facebook': Why The 'Photo Ban' In Afghanistan Won't Work
3Afghan Women Not Barred From Speaking To Each Other, Says Taliban
4Turkey Deports 325 Afghan Nationals In 48 Hours
5Afghan Journalists Fear Losing 'Last Remaining' Freedoms
6Taliban To Attend UN Climate Conference For First Time
7Taliban Carries Out Sixth Public Execution Since Returning To Power
8This Afghan Family Is Surviving On Leftovers From Neighbors
9Taliban Searches Houses In Kabul After Rocket Attack Claimed By Freedom Front
10Explosion In Kabul Kills 2, Injures Several Others, Says Taliban Source
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
