A lawyer has accused the Dutch and US authorities of knowing about the torture of a 24-year-old Dutchman in Pakistan over a period of eight months.
Sabir K. (full name withheld) was arrested at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in April after the Pakistani authorities put him on a flight to the Netherlands. The United States has requested his extradition in connection with terrorism charges. He is suspected of “hostilities against US troops in Afghanistan''.
Sabir claims he was subjected to mock executions in Pakistan, repeated beatings as well as cold and unhygienic conditions. The Dutch High Consul in Islamabad, Evert Brongers, visited the Dutchman twice. He writes that Sabir K. was brought into the room blindfolded and with a bag over his head. The foreign ministry says it has no evidence that he was tortured.
Since his arrest, he has been held in a special terrorism prison unit in Rotterdam. A court in Rotterdam has ruled the extradition request admissible. Sabir has appealed against the ruling to the Dutch Supreme Court. His lawyer André Seebregts says he will take the case to the European Court for Human Rights, if necessary.
The case is controversial as, in the past, the Netherlands extradited Wesam al Delaema to the US. He has since been convicted of terrorism. The Americans broke promises that the Dutch Iraqi would be treated well, according to a court in Rotterdam. As a result, the court substantially reduced his sentence when he was sent back to the Netherlands to serve the rest of his sentence in a Dutch prison.
(nc/imm)
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