On Tuesday, Arfan Bhatti will appear in court in Islamabad. According to Bhatti’s Norwegian lawyer John Christian Elden, the court will decide whether he will be released from custody on bail. Among other things, the court will assess the risk of escape. – The message I have received is that there is a short hearing on bail, and that they will later consider questions about extradition. Norwegian police have been asking for Bhatti’s extradition from Pakistan since November last year. John Chr. Elden defends Arfan Bhatti in Norway. Here during a trial in Oslo District Court in 2018 Photo: Anders Brekke / news The court session tomorrow is the third Bhatti will appear at. Only in a month or two will the whole case be taken up, with the presentation of evidence, which has been sent from the Norwegian police. Among other things, a dialogue from the messaging service Whatsapp, where a Norwegian employee from the E-service pretended to be an Islamist. In the dialogue, he has chatted with what the police believe is Arfan Bhatti. Zia Ur Rehman, Arfan Bhatti’s Pakistani defender, claims to news on Monday evening that the evidence against his client is weak. – To be completely honest, if this case had been in any developed country, he would not have been extradited on the basis of the evidence the Norwegian authorities have provided to the Pakistani police. Zia Ur Rehman, Arfan Bhatti’s lawyer in Islamabad has met his client twice in court and once in jail. – I have been a defense attorney in many extradition cases over the past 15 years. Had it been the USA, Great Britain or even Norway, they would never have extradited him on the basis of the evidence that the Norwegian police have presented. – The cooperation between the Norwegian and Pakistani police has been good in this case, says police lawyer Børge Enoksen. Norwegian and Pakistani police have been working together on this case since last autumn. I would like to volunteer Arfan Bhatti believes that the charge is baseless and that he is innocent. He says via his lawyer in Pakistan that he would like to come to Norway voluntarily. He will not come to Norway with a police escort Rehman believes that the evidence will not hold up in a court case: – If a document arrives via Whatsapp without us knowing the sender’s identity, it has no value. Electronic evidence and reports confirming authenticity must be submitted. A Whatsapp chat is considered weak evidence. – Is he being held legally in custody? – Unfortunately, the pressure from the Norwegian authorities is very high. That is why he is in custody. In my opinion, he should not have been inside for a single day, says Rehman.
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Arfan Bhatti may be released from custody in Islamabad – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
