Afridi jailed for links with banned Islamist group, not CIA

 A Pakistani doctor, who helped CIA track Osama bin Laden, was sentenced to 33-years in jail by a tribal court on charges of links with the banned Lashkar- e-Islam militant group and its chief Mangal Bagh Afridi and not for his involvement with the American spy agency.

The four-member tribal court in Khyber Agency did not entertain evidence related to Shakeel Afridi's involvement with the CIA, saying it did not have the jurisdiction to consider this issue, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The court recommended that Afridi should be produced before a relevant court for further proceedings for his links with the CIA, the paper quoted court documents as saying.
The tribal court's order has left the option open for Afridi's trial in another court under the treason law that entails the death penalty.

The tribal court gave Afridi a 33-year prison term and fined him Rs 320,000 under clauses of the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation.Afridi's conviction has been condemned by rights activists and American lawmakers and officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

It had previously been reported by state-run APP news agency that Afridi had been convicted for helping the CIA track bin Laden by running a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad.