News
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Govt presents evidence against detained Americans* Prosecutors say accused contacted Qari Saifullah of Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami
ISLAMABAD: The government presented evidence in court on Saturday that allegedly showed contacts between five detained Americans and a reputed al Qaeda-linked militant leader Qari Saifullah Akhtar, revealing the leader’s identity for the first time, a prosecutor said. The northern Virginia men are on trial charged with planning terrorist attacks in Pakistan and conspiring to wage war against nations allied with it. They deny any wrongdoing, but prosecutors say they made contact with the leader of the Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami militant network, which is believed to have extensive contacts with al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Akhtar has been arrested twice before - in the United Arab Emirates in 2004 and by Pakistani authorities in 2008 - but released each time for unknown reasons. At the time of his arrest in 2008, he was publicly accused of involvement in a failed attack on former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
Prosecutor Nadeem Akram said the evidence produced in court includes documents, phone call logs and retrieved e-mails, AP reported.
The court sessions are taking place behind closed doors in a high security prison in Sargodha. The prosecution has so far presented 13 witnesses in the trial.
Defence lawyer Hasan Dastagir alleged police had fabricated the evidence and stated that he would produce enough evidence to convince judges of their innocence.
“We will prove that the police fabricated the case,” Defence lawyer Tariq Asad told AFP. “All the accused were arrested on the night between December 8 and 9, while the police record shows they were arrested on December 14,” he added. ap/afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk