An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan's Punjab province on Tuesday gave the police another 14 days to interrogate five US terror suspects and also ordered their medical examination after they complained of being tortured in custody.
As the terror suspects arrived in a police van at the high security court in Sargodha town, one of them threw a scrap of paper from the window complaining of torture.
“Since our arrest the USA, the FBI and the Pakistani police have tortured us. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us from the public, media, our families and our lawyers. Help us," the paper read.
It was signed by “Waqar, Ahmed, Ramy, Umar, Aman” the five US citizens of dual nationality who are accused of attempting to contact Al Qaeda-linked militant groups to stage terrorist attacks against Pakistan and its allies.
Shouts of “We have been tortured” also were heard from the van, Online news agency reported.
The men, aged between 18 and 25 and including two Pakistani-Americans, were arrested in Sargodha in December.
{{/usCountry}}The men, aged between 18 and 25 and including two Pakistani-Americans, were arrested in Sargodha in December.
{{/usCountry}}During the hearing of case, advocates Khalid Khawaja and Muhammad Tariq Asad, who are assisting the suspects, told the court that basic human rights were being violated and that the five men were being tortured in jail.
"They are not been provided with the basic facilities inside the jail. There is no newspaper for them, there are no books for them,” the court was told.
The court thereafter ordered the medical examination of the suspects and adjourned the hearing till February 16. Officials of the US embassy were also present in the court.