Illegal stay: 45-day imprisonment, Rs50,000 fine for Bin Laden's family
After the imprisonment, the family will be deported to their respective countries – Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
ISLAMABAD:
A senior civil judge indicted former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s family on Monday for having resided illegally in Pakistan.
Senior Civil Judge Shahrukh Arjumand handed down 45-day imprisonment along with a fine of Rs10,000 each, to Bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters, after the investigative unit of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed that the family had been residing illegally in the country.
During the proceeding of the case which took place in a private house declared a sub-jail located in Sector G-6/4, Judge Arjumand handed the sentence to Bin Laden’s three widows, Amal Ahmad Abdul Fatheh, Silham Sharif, and Kharia Hussain Sabir, and two daughters, 17-year-old Maryam and 21-year-old Sumiya, said family’s lawyer Muhammad Aamir while talking to The Express Tribune.
Amal was also charged under section 419 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for cheating and not providing her real identity, said Khalid Naeem assistant director (legal) FIA who appeared on the behalf of agency.
Aamir said the period of detention began on March 3, when they were formally arrested on charges of illegal entry and residency in Pakistan and that they would continue to be held at their villa in Islamabad.
“The interior secretary has been directed to arrange their deportation,” Aamir told reporters outside the home in the capital, where the al Qaeda leader’s widows are living and which officials have declared a “sub jail”.
“I think it will be completed probably in two weeks,” he added.
Zakarya Ahmad Abd al Fattah, the Yemeni brother of Bin Laden's youngest and reputedly favourite wife, Amal, confirmed the sentence.
“The court has also given direction to the government to arrange the necessary documents for their earliest repatriation, so that they can go to their own country as soon as possible,” Fattah told reporters.
Sadeh along with Bin Laden’s two other wives from Saudi Arabia and an undisclosed number of children were among the 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities in the fallout of the May 2 raid on the al Qaeda leader’s Abbottabad compound.
Yemen had urged Pakistan to return Sadeh and her four children to her home country, saying they were not guilty of any crime.
The counsel of Sadeh’s brother was also present during the hearing.
Authorities had previously said they will repatriate the women to their home countries after a judicial commission probing the Bin Laden raid has completed its questioning.
The commission has interviewed the family members for clues about how the al Qaeda chief managed to stay in the country undetected.
A senior civil judge indicted former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s family on Monday for having resided illegally in Pakistan.
Senior Civil Judge Shahrukh Arjumand handed down 45-day imprisonment along with a fine of Rs10,000 each, to Bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters, after the investigative unit of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed that the family had been residing illegally in the country.
During the proceeding of the case which took place in a private house declared a sub-jail located in Sector G-6/4, Judge Arjumand handed the sentence to Bin Laden’s three widows, Amal Ahmad Abdul Fatheh, Silham Sharif, and Kharia Hussain Sabir, and two daughters, 17-year-old Maryam and 21-year-old Sumiya, said family’s lawyer Muhammad Aamir while talking to The Express Tribune.
Amal was also charged under section 419 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for cheating and not providing her real identity, said Khalid Naeem assistant director (legal) FIA who appeared on the behalf of agency.
Aamir said the period of detention began on March 3, when they were formally arrested on charges of illegal entry and residency in Pakistan and that they would continue to be held at their villa in Islamabad.
“The interior secretary has been directed to arrange their deportation,” Aamir told reporters outside the home in the capital, where the al Qaeda leader’s widows are living and which officials have declared a “sub jail”.
“I think it will be completed probably in two weeks,” he added.
Zakarya Ahmad Abd al Fattah, the Yemeni brother of Bin Laden's youngest and reputedly favourite wife, Amal, confirmed the sentence.
“The court has also given direction to the government to arrange the necessary documents for their earliest repatriation, so that they can go to their own country as soon as possible,” Fattah told reporters.
Sadeh along with Bin Laden’s two other wives from Saudi Arabia and an undisclosed number of children were among the 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities in the fallout of the May 2 raid on the al Qaeda leader’s Abbottabad compound.
Yemen had urged Pakistan to return Sadeh and her four children to her home country, saying they were not guilty of any crime.
The counsel of Sadeh’s brother was also present during the hearing.
Authorities had previously said they will repatriate the women to their home countries after a judicial commission probing the Bin Laden raid has completed its questioning.
The commission has interviewed the family members for clues about how the al Qaeda chief managed to stay in the country undetected.