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Published 03 May, 2005 12:00am

KARACHI: NGO helps 2 African convicts go home

KARACHI, May 2: Two African women who had completed their jail sentences, along with their children, but remained imprisoned for want of travel documents, are finally leaving for home on Tuesday evening, it is learnt.

According to sources, the women, Adama Camara (accompanied by her son Miracle Camara), and Ngozl Coullibaly (accompanied by her son Daniel Coullibaly), are to leave by PK-213 for Dubai from where they will be take a connecting flight of Kenya Airways.

Superintendent of the Special Prison for Women Sheeba Shah said that officials of the Special Branch would come to the jail on Tuesday evening to pick the foreigners and take them to the airport where they would be handed over to the flight’s captain.

She said that a philanthropist, on the request of the jail authorities, had arranged their tickets and also promised to help other such destitute women and children in similar cases. The philanthropist preferred to remain anonymous, she added.

The sources said that none of the two women was a Nigerian national, but were married to Nigerians. Their cases were taken up by an NGO, the Legal Aid Office (LAO), which provides free legal aid to deserving inmates of the Special Prison for Women in the city, with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which issued their travel documents.

Adama Camara, a Guinea Bissau national, was carrying over 400 grams of heroin in 30 capsules hidden in her body and was caught just before boarding a flight at the Karachi airport in December 2003. She was sentenced to two-and-a- half-year imprisonment and Rs50,000 fine on May 20, 2004. In the meantime, she delivered Miracle Camara. She had completed her jail term on Feb 9, 2005.

Ngpzl Coullibali, a Mali national, was carrying 850 grams of heroin in 58 capsules when caught just before boarding a flight at the Karachi airport in November 2003. She was awarded three years term and a fine of Rs75,000. The LAO filed an appeal in the Sindh High Court which reduced her sentenced by six months and the fine Rs40,000. She completed her sentence on March 3.

A Ugandan woman, Asimwe Gift, accompanied by her new-born baby, had also completed her sentence on July 29, 2004 and could not leave the country for some time for want of travel documents. She was sent to her country on April 21.

According to sources, there are six more women still languishing in the jail after completing their terms.

An Iranian couple, Murtaza and Nahita, and their daughter Anhita Murtaza, were convicted under the Foreigners’ Act in September 2003. Their term expired on Dec 3, 2003.

Sander Okoror, a Nigerian national, has completed her sentence on Dec 13, 2004. An India national, Maya Wall Singh, was sentenced under the Pakistan Entry Act and has completed her sentence on April 20, 2004. Aynura Yaqub of Azerbaijan was convicted under Sections 6/9–B, and has completed her sentence on Feb 9, 2005. Loveth Oghogho of Nigeria was convicted under the same sections and has completed her sentence on March 6, 2005.

The sources said that all these foreigners would not be able to return home until their respective governments would issue their travel documents.

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