Sohail Qureshi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sohail Qureshi is a Canadian citizen arrested in May 2007 in Kabul, Afghanistan on charges of involvement with a larger Canadian group supporting the insurgency against the Invasion of Afghanistan.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Qureshi grew up in Manchester, England, and immigrated to Canada as a youth with his parents and sister. The family lived in a number of cities, including Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, before settling down in Calgary, Alberta where his father opened a medical clinic and his mother worked as the receptionist.[1]
He graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Calgary in JUne 2006[2], but wasn't able to find a job in his field upon completing school and took a packing job with a local courier company .[1] In February 2007, he took a trip to Pakistan promising to return in April.[3] During that time he crossed into Afghanistan several times, traveling around the country.[1]
[edit] Arrest
Although initial reports suggested that the 24-year old had been stepping off a bus when Afghan police apprehended him, Kabul's 9th Police District headquarters have since stated that he was arrested sitting in a taxi on Bagram Road, on the outskirt's of the city between 9-10pm.[1] He was alleged to be carrying a notebook that contained notes about the German military base in Mazar-e-Sharif and contact information for Pakistani militants. He was also accused of transporting money to Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin.[1]
Afghan Ministry of the Interior spokesman General Manan Faraie said that Qureshi was suspected of being "somehow connected to al-Qaeda or the Taliban", and others reported that he had been planning a suicide bombing to avenge a brother.[1] He was held in Policharki prison.[4][5]
[edit] Release
Two weeks after Qureshi was arrested, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a scheduled meeting with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, but chose not to bring up the subject of the imprisonment.[1]
He was cleared of all wrong-doing, and was deported to Canada on October 9, 2007 since he had overstayed his alloted travel time in May.[6]
[edit] External Links
- ^ a b c d e f g h Khan, Adnan R. & Nicholas Kohler, Macleans, "A Canadian Spy", June 11 2007
- ^ Toronto Star, [http://www.thestar.com/News/article/213349 Arrested Canadian 'talked of jihad', May 12, 2007
- ^ Bell, Stewart. National Post, Albertan in Afghan jail may face trial, May 12, 2007
- ^ Hamilton, Dwight. "Terror Threat: International and Homegrown Terrorists and Their Threat to Canada", 2007. pp. 89
- ^ CTV, Calgary man held in Kabul jail deported to Canada, November 5, 2007
- ^ CBC, Calgary man released from Kabul jail, November 5 2007
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
