BB murder case: Mark Siegel’s ‘ill health’ delays testimony

ISLAMABAD:

The testimony of American author Mark Siegel in the Benazir Bhutto murder case was delayed till October on Thursday owing to his health issues.

The foreign ministry submitted a letter in the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi explaining that Siegel would be unable to record his statement via video link.

Investigators had included Siegel’s name in the list of prosecution witnesses to use his testimony against former president Pervez Musharraf in the case. Siegel was a close friend of the slain former premier.

The ATC had summoned Siegel but he had refused to travel to Pakistan citing security reasons. He, however, had agreed to record his statement.

Seigel was scheduled to testify before the ATC and arrangements were made for video conferencing at the commissioner office but a last minute email from him to the Pakistani embassy in Washington DC revealed that he would not be able to do so because of health issues. Seigel will now testify sometime after October 1.

The embassy had made arrangements for recording the statement declaring the embassy’s premises an extension of the court.

Receiving the letter, the court issued a notice to the American desk of the ministry directing it to produce Siegel’s email on August 31.

The court also issued notices to three witnesses — Bhutto’s driver Abdul Rehman, her security chief SP Ishtiaq Shah and doctor Azam Yousuf — to appear on the next hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2015.