Five Americans detained in Pakistan denied today they planned to carry out terrorist attacks, as a court granted police two weeks to prepare terrorism charges against them, their defence lawyer said.
The young Muslim men from the Washington, DC, area were arrested in early December in the eastern Pakistani city of Sargodha in a case that has spurred fears that westerners are travelling to Pakistan to join militant groups. Pakistani police have said they plan to seek life sentences for the men under the country's anti-terrorism law.
The men, aged 19 to 25, denied they had ties with al-Qaida or other militant groups during a court appearance in Sargodha, said their lawyer, Ameer Abdullah Rokri.
"They told the court that they did not have any plan to carry out any terrorist act inside or outside Pakistan," said Rokri. "They said that they only intended to travel to Afghanistan to help their Muslim brothers who are in trouble, who are bleeding and who are being victimised by Western forces."
The Full Story
No comments:
Post a Comment