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Pakistan frees British national | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A British national held in detention in Pakistan without charge for more than a year has been released. | |
Rengzeib Ahmed says he was tortured during his detention by Pakistani security officials, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. | Rengzeib Ahmed says he was tortured during his detention by Pakistani security officials, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. |
British diplomats in Islamabad had said they had been unable to intervene in the case because they could not verify if he was also a Pakistani national. | British diplomats in Islamabad had said they had been unable to intervene in the case because they could not verify if he was also a Pakistani national. |
Mr Ahmed flew out of Islamabad to London on Friday. | |
'Access denied' | |
A spokesman at the British High Commission said he was "very concerned" about any reports of torture. | |
The spokesman said that the Pakistani authorities had confirmed only on 16 July of this year that Mr Ahmed was not a Pakistani national. | |
Even then, the spokesman said the Pakistani authorities had denied British diplomats access to Mr Ahmed. | |
His family have always insisted that he only held a UK passport. | |
Human Rights Watch says that Mr Ahmed was detained in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province in August, 2006, as a suspected militant. | Human Rights Watch says that Mr Ahmed was detained in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province in August, 2006, as a suspected militant. |
He was later transferred to the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi. | |
Mr Ahmed says he was also questioned by US and British officials during his detention, HRW says. | Mr Ahmed says he was also questioned by US and British officials during his detention, HRW says. |
The British High Commission said it could not comment on intelligence matters. | |
Mr Ahmed was held under the Security of Pakistan Act, which allows the indefinite detention of suspects deemed to be a national security threat. | |
A panel of judges, including two Supreme Court justices, ordered his release on 31 August. | |
"I am very concerned about my brother, his health and how he is kept in Adiala prison," Mr Ahmed's brother, Mohammad Pervez, told the BBC earlier this year. | "I am very concerned about my brother, his health and how he is kept in Adiala prison," Mr Ahmed's brother, Mohammad Pervez, told the BBC earlier this year. |