The family of a Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency track down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden urged authorities for an early decision on the appeal against a 23-year jail term.
“We request the chief justice for an early decision of the appeal,” Jamil Afridi, the elder brother of jailed doctor Shakil Afridi told a news conference in the north-western city of Peshawar on Wednesday.
Afridi is accused of having run a fake vaccination campaign in the northern city of Abbottabad to confirm the presence of bin Laden in a compound.
It was after the confirmation by Afridi that U.S. Navy special forces stormed the hideout in a night raid to kill bin Laden in 2011, ending one of the longest running manhunts in history.
Afridi is considered a hero by the U.S. and a traitor by many in Pakistan.
He was handed a 23-year prison sentence on charges of funding a militant group affiliated with the Taliban in 2012.
Pakistan officials accused the medic of treason for leading the CIA to bin Laden, but he was never formally charged.
“We are being denied justice,” Jamil Afridi said.
He said that the government prosecutors as well as the court was dragging feet, in spite of the fact that his brother had already spent around 10 years in jail without a decision on the appeal.
Peshawar High Court, where the appeal has been pending for more than 15 months, is scheduled to take up the matter on Thursday. (dpa/NAN)
