Pakistani policemen escort handcuffed men identified as Umar Farooq, (3rd L), Aman Hassan Yemer, (C front) Ramy Zamzam, (C rear) and Waqar Hussain Khan, (R) who police say are four of five Americans arrested in Pakistan, leave after their court appearance in Sargodha, Punjab province, 190 km southeast of Islamabad, Monday. – Reuters SARGODHA, Pakistan – Five Americans arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorism told a court Monday that they had been tortured by police, charges that could add to political sensitivities surrounding the case. The men made the allegations during a hearing before a special anti-terrorism court in Sargodha. The session was held in order for police to submit a charge sheet alleging that the suspects had conspired in a terrorist act, a formal legal step that brings them closer to a possible indictment. The men also shouted the allegations to reporters as they were driven from the building. No details as to the nature of the alleged torture were given. Prison authorities and police denied any ill-treatment. A US Embassy spokesman said he had no immediate comments about the torture allegations, but noted consular officials have visited the men. The five men, all young Muslims from the Washington area, were detained in December at a house in the Punjabi town of Sargodha not long after arriving in Pakistan. Police have publicly accused them of plotting terror attacks in Pakistan, having links to al-Qaida and seeking to join militants fighting US troops across the border in Afghanistan after contacting Pakistani militants on the Internet. Lawyers for the men say they wanted to travel to Afghanistan and had no plans for attacks in Pakistan. The media and the public were not allowed to attend the court session, but a court order obtained by The Associated Press said the men “have made a complaint that they have been tortured in the custody of police.” It instructed the men to undergo medical examinations. Senior police officer Usman Anwar denied the allegations, as did Aftab Haanif, the deputy superintendent of the jail where the men are being held, who said they were receiving better food than regular inmates. “We categorically deny that we tortured them at any stage of the interrogation,” Anwar said. “The court has ordered a medical examination that will make everything clear.” In Monday's hearing, police submitted a charge sheet and evidence to the court in which the men are accused of violating several sections of Pakistan's penal code and anti-terrorism law. The charge sheet also said they planning a terrorist activity in a foreign country, a likely reference to Afghanistan.
