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SARGODHA: Five young American men detained in Pakistan for alleged links to Islamist extremist groups swore their innocence Tuesday, saying they were being set up and tortured in jail.
As they arrived in a police van at the high-security court in the eastern city of Sargodha, one of the suspects tossed a scrap of toilet paper scrawled with writing from the window of the vehicle, an AFP reporter said.
Since our arrest the USA, FBI and Pakistani police have tortured us. They are trying to set us up. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us from the public, media, our families and our lawyers. Help us, it read.
The piece of paper was signed by Waqar, Ahmed, Ramy, Umar, Aman -- the names of the five US citizens of dual nationality. Shouts of We have been tortured also were heard from the van.
Aamir Abbas, a local police official who worked on the case, said the court extended judicial remand of the five men until February 15 when they will be produced again before the court.
The men, aged between 18 and 25 and including two Pakistani-Americans, were arrested in Sargodha in December. They are accused of trying to contact Al-Qaeda-linked groups and plot attacks against Pakistan and its allies.
Pakistani officials say the men planned to travel to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban against US troops. At a previous hearing the men denied links to Al-Qaeda and said they wanted to go to Afghanistan for charity work.
The men face life imprisonment if charged, put on trial and found guilty. A Pakistani court has barred their deportation to the United States. Court proceedings are going on behind closed doors with the media barred access.
Pakistan is under US pressure to do more to eliminate Islamist networks that have carved out training grounds and havens in the country's northwest to plot attacks against Western troops fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Khalid Khawaja, of the Defence of Human Rights Pakistan group which is providing assistance to the five men, said they would file an application in court on Tuesday for improved facilities in detention.
Basic human rights are being violated in this case and the guys are being tortured inside the jail, Khawaja said.
"They are not been provided with the basic facilities inside the jail. There is no newspaper for them, there are no books for them.
The suspects made similar claims of mistreatment at their last hearing on January 18, but police denied the accusation and said that one of the detainees had complained only of a stomach ache. AFP
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | US militant suspects claim 'set up' in Pakistan
As they arrived in a police van at the high-security court in the eastern city of Sargodha, one of the suspects tossed a scrap of toilet paper scrawled with writing from the window of the vehicle, an AFP reporter said.
Since our arrest the USA, FBI and Pakistani police have tortured us. They are trying to set us up. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us from the public, media, our families and our lawyers. Help us, it read.
The piece of paper was signed by Waqar, Ahmed, Ramy, Umar, Aman -- the names of the five US citizens of dual nationality. Shouts of We have been tortured also were heard from the van.
Aamir Abbas, a local police official who worked on the case, said the court extended judicial remand of the five men until February 15 when they will be produced again before the court.
The men, aged between 18 and 25 and including two Pakistani-Americans, were arrested in Sargodha in December. They are accused of trying to contact Al-Qaeda-linked groups and plot attacks against Pakistan and its allies.
Pakistani officials say the men planned to travel to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban against US troops. At a previous hearing the men denied links to Al-Qaeda and said they wanted to go to Afghanistan for charity work.
The men face life imprisonment if charged, put on trial and found guilty. A Pakistani court has barred their deportation to the United States. Court proceedings are going on behind closed doors with the media barred access.
Pakistan is under US pressure to do more to eliminate Islamist networks that have carved out training grounds and havens in the country's northwest to plot attacks against Western troops fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Khalid Khawaja, of the Defence of Human Rights Pakistan group which is providing assistance to the five men, said they would file an application in court on Tuesday for improved facilities in detention.
Basic human rights are being violated in this case and the guys are being tortured inside the jail, Khawaja said.
"They are not been provided with the basic facilities inside the jail. There is no newspaper for them, there are no books for them.
The suspects made similar claims of mistreatment at their last hearing on January 18, but police denied the accusation and said that one of the detainees had complained only of a stomach ache. AFP
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | US militant suspects claim 'set up' in Pakistan
