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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan al-Qaeda confessions ’forced’ |
| 2003-02-04 |
| A lawyer for five men accused of harbouring senior al-Qaeda figures in Pakistan has asked a High Court judge to dismiss their confessions. "We wuz framed!" Lawyer Hamid Khan said the statements - made by Dr Ahmed Javed Khawaja, his brother and three other relatives - were likely to have been forced out of them. That's more than it usually takes to convict someone in an Islamic court. A veritable abundance of evidence! Officials defied an order to produce the men in court along with evidence justifying their detention since 18 December. State attorney Sher Zaman said the Interior Ministry had "sufficient incriminating evidence against the five men", but that it was too sensitive to reveal in court. It would only be presented to a judicial review board, he said. "And we ain't telling them, neither!" Dr Khawaja, his two sons, his brother and his nephew were detained in December 2002. They are accused of Someone got convicted in Pakistan of "possessing illegal weapons"? That can't be right. Police allege the men fired on intelligence agents who raided their home. So they're also lousy shots. What else is new? All five men are appealing against their detentions, claiming lack of evidence. "We wuz framed, framed I tell ya!" The High Court in Lahore heard petitions from Dr Khawaja's Mr Khan said no case had been established against his clients. "Whatever has been alleged subsequently is based on the alleged confessions of the detainees," he told the court. "My clients respectfully submit that they wuz framed." "They have been interrogated by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and taken into custody on the instigation of a foreign state." Who wants to bet, between the Paks and the FBI, who conducted the more ruthless interrogation? Witnesses have claimed FBI agents were present when the Khawaja home was raided. "Remember, Major, we'd like to talk to them afterwards, so don't ventilate them too badly." Pakistani investigators assisted by the FBI have been hunting suspected al-Qaeda Keep hunting, boys, you're not done yet. |
| Posted by:Steve White |