Restriction on US Citizens Meeting Convicted Person
Published on: November 17, 2023.
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Rewritten Article:
Five members of an American Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) were denied permission to meet with Zafar Bhatti, an individual convicted in a blasphemy case, at Adiala Central Jail. The delegation from the US-based non-profit organization, consisting of Greg Edwards, Robert Franklin, Donald Zolomeyer, Mark Rice, and Ronald Peter Reich, had arrived the day before with the intention of meeting the prisoner. However, they were unable to meet Bhatti despite being accompanied by Safdar Chaudhry, chairman of the local non-profit organization ‘Raah-e-Nijat’.
Zafar Bhatti’s blasphemy case dates back to July 11, 2012, when he was implicated in a case registered at Rawalpindi’s Newtown police station. Following his conviction, Bhatti received a death sentence from the competent court. The American NGO delegation had been visiting various prisons in Punjab prior to their visit to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Unfortunately, due to undisclosed reasons, the jail administration did not grant permission for the meeting to take place. As a result, the American citizens were unable to meet the condemned inmate.
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