A Pakistani tribal court's verdict convicting Dr. Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the CIA locate Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, reveals that the doctor was sentenced to 33 years for not helping the CIA, but for allegedly furthering the anti-state activities of the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam (LI).
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LI is a non-Taliban militant group, but very akin to the Taliban in its ideological objectives of jihad and in its tactical strategy. The group is led by Mangal Bagh, a former bus driver who went on to become a powerful Islamic militant enforcing Islamic shari'a in Khyber Agency, one of Pakistan's seven tribal districts.
The tribal court convened in Bara, Khyber Agency's major city, under the Political Agent, who administers the district as a representative of the federal government. The law governing the tribal districts is known as Frontier Crimes Regulation 1901, a British-era law that allows, among other things, collective punishments such as those prevalent in tribal societies. The court's jurors were tribal elders from Khyber Agency.
Although earlier media reports indicated that Dr. Shakil Afridi was convicted of helping the CIA to establish a fake vaccination camp for children in Abottabad, leading to the confirmation that Al-Qaeda commander Osama bin Laden was based in the city, a copy of the Political Agent's verdict reveals that the doctor was not convicted for aiding the CIA.
The verdict notes that the accused "was arrested for his involvement in anti-state activities on May 23, 2011 [following the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2] by the Political Administration [of] Khyber Agency. There were reports that the accused is in league in anti-state activities with the defunct [i.e. banned] organization Lashkar-e-Islam. Various [Pakistani] intelligence agencies and the people in general had complained against the activities of the accused."
The court order states: "[Dr. Shakil Afridi] was referred to [the] Joint Interrogation Team [JIT] for further interrogation on May 24, 2011, for five days. On May 29, 2011, he was handed over to an intelligence agency under proper receipt for further [investigation]. On the direction of [Pakistani] Ministry of Interior letter No. 3/22/2011(OPS)-2752, dated May 8, 2012, (Ex-A) the accused was handed back to this court for further trial on May 11, 2012."
The final judgment notes that Dr. Afridi is not being convicted for his role in helping the CIA to locate Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, but recommends that the JIT evidence be submitted before an appropriate Pakistani court for further proceedings.
It states: "Though the JIT contains evidence of the involvement of [the] accused in activities wherein he has been shown acting with other foreign intelligence agencies, all this evidence could not be taken into account [due to a] lack of jurisdiction, and [it is this court's] recommendation that it may be produced before the relevant concerned court for further proceedings under the law."
According to the detailed order, the charges against Dr. Shakil Afridi included accusations of providing two million Pakistani rupees to LI, providing medical assistance to injured militants, holding meetings with militants in his hospital that lead to militant attacks on Pakistani security forces, involvement in subversive activities, his role in facilitating combat, preaching LI's ideology despite being a civil servant, serving Mangal Bagh rather than the government of Pakistan, and disloyalty and enmity toward Pakistan.
The court order is signed by the Assistant Political Agent/Additional District Magistrate of Khyber Agency and is dated May 23, 2012. As per the order, Dr. Afridi was found guilty and awarded the following sentences on four counts: a fine of 100,000 Pakistani rupees and another of 20,000 rupees, 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and two more similar jail terms, plus another term of three years - totaling 33 years imprisonment altogether.
