Mystery over detention of US citizen in Pakistan

By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Oct 15: Mystery surrounding the detention of a US citizen from a remote tribal area thickens as Pakistani authorities say they have released him while the US State Department says he is still in custody.

“I can confirm news reports that … an American citizen (is) detained by Pakistani officials in the tribal areas,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing on Wednesday.

“(US) Consular officers from Islamabad have travelled to the place where he is being held. They have spoken with him. And we’re doing everything that we can do and normally do for American citizens who are being held by foreign governments,” he added.

“Beyond that, I can’t offer a lot of details just because we don’t have a Privacy Act waiver.”

In Peshawar, police officials told an American news agency and television channel — AP and CBS News — that they had freed a 20-year-old American man who was arrested in a militant-infested area close to the Afghan border earlier this week. Pakistani police identified the detainee as Juddi Kennan, who holds a US passport but his father is Pakistani, and he currently lives in Peshawar. His identity has not been confirmed yet.

Mr Kennan did not have permission to visit Fata and was arrested while trying to cross a checkpost at the entrance of the Mohmand area.

But at the State Department, spokesman McCormack said that the report of his release was not accurate. He also rejected the suggestion that Mr Kennan might have been freed and picked up again. “I don’t believe that’s an accurate report. I believe that he has been in detention the entire time,” he said.

The detainee told police that he was in Peshawar to seek authorisation foreigners needed to enter tribal areas. But Mr McCormack, when asked where was the suspect being held, said: “The last information that I had is that he was being held in Waziristan.”

Asked if the US was trying to determine if this man was involved in terrorist activities, Mr McCormack said: “What we can try to do in these circumstances is … we can provide a list of lawyers that, if an individual chooses to engage a lawyer, they can choose from that list.”

The list, he said, would include lawyers the US embassy has had experience with and trusts.

Asked if US officials had spoken to the suspect’s family, Mr McCormack said: “I’m not at liberty to talk about that.”

Asked if the US administration had discussed the issue with Pakistani authorities, the State Department spokesman said: “Let me check to see what we can say about our interactions and what we may have learned or not learned from Pakistani officials.”