Express News screengrab of Dr Shakil Afridi.
PESHAWAR: The Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) Commissioner Captain (retd) Munir Azam announced his decision to reduce Dr Shakil Aridi's sentence by 10 years, Express News reported Saturday.
Shakil was convicted of treason by the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) tribunal for alleged ties to militants and jailed for 33 years in May 2012 and asked to pay a fine of Rs320,000.
Authorities set aside the sentence in August last year on appeal and ordered a retrial, but now a tribunal has agreed to cut a decade off his jail term.
"The tribunal has reduced the 33-year imprisonment to 23 years and also reduced the fine of 320,000 rupees to 220,000 rupees," defence lawyer Samiullah Afridi told AFP.
Samiullah said that he would appeal against the decision as he wanted to have a new trial, as stipulated by the authorities last August.
"We will appeal against this decision, because it is unjust," Samiullah said.
Jamil Afridi, the brother of the jailed doctor added: "We wanted to have a fresh trial, but the court just ruled on one point and reduced the sentence by 10 years. We will file an appeal against this decision."
Lawyers for the doctor had challenged the August ruling, made by the commissioner of the northwestern city of Peshawar, in the FATA Tribunal.
Shakil was arrested after US troops killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in May 2011 in the northwestern town of Abbottabad.
Islamabad branded the raid a violation of sovereignty and US relations fell to an all-time low.
Shakil had been recruited by the CIA to run a vaccination programme in Abbottabad in the hope of obtaining DNA samples to identify Osmam bin Laden, although medics never managed to gain access to the family.
He was convicted not for working for the CIA, for which the court said it had no jurisdiction - but for alleged ties to militants.
In November, authorities unexpectedly charged Afridi with murder and fraud over the death of a patient some six years earlier.
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Dr. Afridi is a real hero and unlike Gen Mushy he is never offered his day in a real court of law. Dr. Afridi never gave poison or wrong vaccine to children. He only started giving vaccines to OBL's neighborhood to get the DNA of the suspect's kids. The vaccine campaign was not officially assigned and he started it by himself. It was not like he was injecting kids with fake medicines or poison. When cardiology hospital in Lahore was providing fake/adulterated aspirin to the heart patients and several dozens died nobody was convicted. Dr. Afridi did not kill anybody let alone children but saved the humanity from the world's worst terrorist.
So you punish someone who helps in catching one of the worst people on the planet earth at the same time trying to negotiate with people who blow up for no reason? Great job Pakistan, you are truly a work of art!
Malik Riaz should announce a Villa for him in Bahria Greens
Afridi deserves his day in court - this time accompanied by an attorney and charged with a bona fide crime. Tossing Afridi in jail for the crime of helping terrorism is pathetic - everyone knows he sits in jail because he helped your ally find OBL which brought shame to Pakistan. If embarrassing Pakistan is a crime then your going to have to build many more prisons.
What a joke and mockery of justice where a hero is treated as criminal and criminals and murderers are garlanded even by the handlers of justice system!
Why has he not yet been stripped of the title "Doctor" by relevant authorities for endangering lives of children and contributing to growth of polio in Pakistan by using his qualifications for a non-medical purpose, and hence abusing his credentials through the consequences of his actions?
I thought he was suppose to get a new trial. And when are you going to have the guts to charge him for the alleged crime of helping the American's find OBL?
Doing that for US Aid? Pathetic!