Today lawyers representing the Pakistani doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden appealed his conviction.
Last week, a Pakistani tribal court sentenced Shakeel Afridi to 33 years in prison for treason. At the time, Pakistani officials said it was because Afridi helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden. He had set up a fake vaccination program in hopes of getting DNA samples to identify the al Qaeda leader. But there's a new twist tonight. They now say the conviction was due to Afridi's "close links" to the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, according to the judgment obtained by CNN.
In today's appeal, Afridi's legal team denied the accusations calling them "false and baseless."
The case has further strained U.S.-Pakistani relations.
Tonight on 360°, Anderson talks in-depth with U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who says the U.S. should be "ashamed" of Afridi's treatment in Pakistan. The California Republican says the U.S. should be "raising holy hell" to help Afridi. "He risked his life for us and we're abandoning him," Rohrabacher said. Here's a preview of the interview and see more tonight at 8 and 10pm ET..
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Filed under: 360° Interview • Pakistan |
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