ROME, June 24: An Italian judge on Tuesday ordered the release of 15 Pakistanis arrested last August in Italy’s territorial waters after investigators dispelled suspicions that the men were linked to the Al Qaeda terror network, court sources said.

Italian officials arrested the men after the coastguard intercepted their vessel, the Sara, off the coast of Sicily, following a tip-off from Italian intelligence services.

They were charged with conspiracy to carry out terrorist and subversive acts and jailed in Caltanissetta, in the southern island of Sicily.

After a 10-month investigation, a Caltanissetta magistrate ordered their release after it was proved that the men were clandestine immigrants with no links to Al Qaeda or other extremists.

The Sara, loaded with a cargo of lead, had been bound for Libya, which Italy has recently accused of serving as a hub for human traffickers.—AFP