HRC seeks fair trial for Shakeel Afridi who helped CIA

May 25, 2012 20:55

Pakistan's leading rights watchdog today expressed concern at the denial of due process to Shakeel Afridi, the doctor who was given a 33-year prison term for allegedly helping the CIA track Osama bin Laden before he was killed last year. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded that Afridi "must get a fair trial" irrespective of the charges against him.

"One is concerned about the security of the country, but that cannot be made the basis of denying rule of law to anyone," the organisation said in a statement. The HRCP expressed concern that Afridi's trial fell "well short of the due process standards on many counts, not least because the core principle of natural justice has been ignored and Afridi denied due legal assistance".

It said the question of trying him for treason too was controversial. "His actions may well have been prompted by the declared policy of the state to fight all forms of terrorism in sincerity.

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