IHT : Suspect in London airliner terror plot detained illegally in Pakistan, lawyer says

Suspect in London airliner terror plot detained illegally in Pakistan, lawyer says

The Associated Press | January 19, 2007

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: The lawyer for a Briton suspected in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners claimed Pakistan's government is holding him illegally after jail authorities failed to produce him before a court on Friday.

Rashid Rauf, a British Muslim of Pakistani origin, had been due to appear at an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, since the period of detention earlier ordered by that same court had expired.

But a prison official informed the judge, Kalim Khan, that Rauf's detention had already been extended by a review board of Pakistan's Supreme Court for 90 days so he was not produced before the anti-terrorism court Friday.

Hashmat Habib, the defense lawyer, told the judge that authorities had not given him a copy of the order.

At the lawyer's request, the judge ruled Rauf must be produced before the anti-terrorism court on Jan. 26.

Habib claimed that authorities were avoiding producing Rauf before the court.

"We know that the government has a weak case. This is the only reason that it did not produce him before the judge today," he told reporters later. "Rashid Rauf is in the illegal custody of the government."

Rauf was arrested by Pakistani agents in August on a tip from their British counterparts.

Pakistan has described him as a key suspect in the alleged terror plot to blow up jetliners flying from Britain to the United States that prompted a massive security alert at airports in the summer and increased restrictions on carryon items.

Yet the judge dropped terror charges against Rauf on Dec. 13 and transferred the case to a regular court for hearing criminal cases. He is charged with living in Pakistan without valid travel documents and possessing a chemical for making explosives.

The hearing in the anti-terrorism court on Friday was just intended to review Rauf's detention.

Pakistan says Britain has asked it to extradite Rauf in connection with a murder inquiry in Britain. Pakistan and Britain don't have an extradition treaty, and Islamabad has said it hasn't decided yet on the extradition request.