Asif freed after 6 months

Pakistan fast-bowler to stay to launch appeal.

LONDON: Mohammad Asif was released from a British prison yesterday after completing half of his one-year sentence for spot-fixing, according to his lawyers.

Asif, 29, was jailed in November after he was found guilty of conspiring to cheat and conspiring to accept corrupt payments over deliberate no-balls bowled during the Lord’s Test against England in August 2010. The player was freed from Canterbury Prison.

His lawyer Ravi Sukul told Geo TV on Wednesday that Asif could stay in England while he explored the possibility of launching an appeal against his conviction.

“I have a strong belief that if certain procedures had been applied at his trial, they could have persuaded the jury to come to a different conclusion,” said Sukul.

Salman Butt, Pakistan’s Test captain in 2010, and Mohammad Amir were also jailed. Amir was released in February after three months in jail while Butt is serving a term of 30 months. Mazhar Majeed, the agent for three players who was accused of striking the deal, was jailed for 32 months.

The ICC also banned the three players for a minimum of five years. All three players have the right to appeal against the ICC ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2012.