coffee_rules Posted August 30, 2013 Posted August 30, 2013 http://tribune.com.pk/story/596945/peshawar-court-admits-appeal-against-shakil-afridis-prison-sentence/ PESHAWAR: A Pakistani judicial official on Thursday overturned the 33-year jail sentence passed on Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped CIA agents hunting for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who was killed in 2011. US officials have hailed Afridi as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden’s location before the secret May 2011 raid by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after more than a decade of searching. Judicial official Sahibzada Mohammad Anees ordered a new trial on the grounds that another official had exceeded his authority when handing down last year’s sentence. Afridi remains in custody. “The assistant political agent … did not have the authority to award 33 years’ imprisonment to Dr Shakil Afridi,†said the written judgment. “The assistant political agent played the role of a magistrate for which he was not authorised.†http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editorials/30-Aug-2013/aafia-and-shakil-afridi It seems more likely that Aafia's return may be the lucky byproduct of a prisoner exchange demanded of Pakistan by the US, and not vice versa. This perception is strengthened by the overturning of Shakil Afridi's sentence of 33 years by a court hearing the case. An extraordinary piece of news, given the interest with which the Afridi case has been followed so far. Good for the doctor. He will go to US as a hero , if this happens.
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