ATC rejects bail for US suspects

ISLAMABAD (AFP/Reuters) - An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday denied bail to five young American men accused of plotting attacks and trying to contact Al-Qaeda-linked groups, lawyers said.
The US citizens appeared in court on Tuesday in Sargodha, where they were arrested in December 2009, and defence attorneys had argued that they should be released on bail because of lack of evidence.
But the prosecutor said a presidential decree stated that suspects facing charges which carry more than 10 years in prison should not be granted bail. On that basis, the court today (Wednesday) rejected the bail applications, public prosecutor Nadeem Akram Cheema told AFP by telephone.
Tariq Asad, one of the defence lawyers, confirmed bail had been turned down and vowed to file another application at the Lahore High Court.
My clients are innocent - all the charges against them are baseless, there was nothing with them when they were arrested, nothing, he said.
The men, aged between 18 and 25, face life imprisonment if put on trial and found guilty. The Lahore High Court has barred their deportation to the United States, where they all lived before travelling to Pakistan last year.