A civil court on Monday indicted al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden’s family members to a 45-day imprisonment for illegally staying in Pakistan. As three widows and their children had already passed one month in prison, they would be deported to their respective countries after 15 days. Senior Civil Judge Shahrukh Anjumad handed down a 45-day imprisonment sentence along with a fine of Rs 10,000 each, to Bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters under the Foreign Act. The proceedings of the case were carried at a house located in sector G/6 of the capital city where the al Qaeda chief’s family was kept and the house has also been declared a sub jail.
Talking to reporters, Zakarya Ahmad Abd al-Fattah, brother of Osama’s Yemani wife said the court had announced a one and a half month imprisonment to all the five accused including Osama’s three widows, Amal Ahmad Abdul Fatheh, Silham Sharif, and Kharia Hussain Sabir, and two daughters, Maryam and Sumiya. He said the fine of Rs 10,000 on all the adult members had also been imposed, adding that the court had also directed the government to arrange necessary documents for the earliest repatriation of the Osama’s family members, so that they can go to their own country’s—Saudi Arabia and Yemen – after completing their imprisonment. Amal al Sadeh along with bin Laden’s two other wives from Saudi Arabia and an undisclosed number of children were among the 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities in the wake of the May 2 raid on the al Qaeda leader’s Abbottabad compound. FIA Assistant Director (Legal) Khalid Naeem said Amal was also charged under Section 419 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for cheating and not providing her real identity. Muhammad Aamir, lawyer for the Bin Laden family told reporters that the period of detention of his widows and children started on March 3, when they were formally arrested on charges of illegal entry and residency in Pakistan and that they would continue to be held at their house in federal capital. He added that the directions had been given to the interior secretary for making all the arrangements of Bin Laden’s deportation and the said process may be completed in two weeks.
