Doctor in jail for 30 years to help the U.S. kill Osama

ISLAMABAD

(IANS) Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, ccused to help the CIA reach the gates of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Wednesday handed down a prison sentence of 30 years rigorous to commit treason under the laws of British era tribes.

The award was announced by the political administration of Khyber Agency that owns Afridi, Xinhua reported.

He was convicted under the Frontier Crimes Regulation to perform a vaccination campaign in Abbottabad false to obtain DNA samples from bin Laden.

Afridi was fined 320,000 rupees (over $ 3400). If he fails to pay the fine, he could face another three years in prison.

After the sentence, Afridi was transferred to Peshawar Central Prison.

U.S. commandos stormed bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad near Rawalpindi on May 2 last year, taking the US-Pakistan ties to a new low.

The doctor was arrested 20 days later, while trying to escape from Afghanistan.

A Pakistani commission investigating the U.S. raid that killed bin Laden had called for Afridi trial on charges of high treason.

Official sources said that Afridi was awarded imprisonment under tribal laws, known as Border Crimes Regulation (FCR). The FCR then UK is still in force in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Afridi was sent to the main prison in the city of Peshawar, according to sources.

The government has already sacked him services and other nursing staff who worked on his education.

Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, admitted in January that Afridi had helped U.S. intelligence through the collection of DNA for the presence of Al-Qaeda chief.

Tags: CIA, DNA, FCR, Frontier Crimes Regulation, Shakil Afridi, US