Thursday 29 August 2013

Bin Laden doctor to face retrial

Officials in Pakistan have overturned the jail sentence and ordered a retrial of a doctor who helped the CIA in their search for Osama Bin Laden.

Shakil Afridi was charged with treason and tried under the tribal justice system for running a fake vaccination programme to gather information.

He was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 and has been held since then at Peshawar Central Jail.

Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Abbottabad in May 2011.

His killing created a crisis in relations between the US and Pakistan, which felt the covert operation was a violation of its sovereignty.

His cousin, Qamar Nadeem Afridi, told the BBC it was a "great development" and said the "true facts" would now come out.

Although Afridi's conviction has been overturned, his retrial will still be heard under tribal jurisdiction in a closed court.

The BBC reports that there is no guarantee that a similar verdict will not be reached.

Punch

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