The Pakistani doctor, who helped the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in tracking down and killing the Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in 2011, has begun a hunger strike in his prison cell. His lawyer and family informed the media about the hunger strike on Monday.
Shakeel Afridi was sent to jail for 33 years in central Punjab province after he launched a fake vaccination programme in Abbottabad, which helped US agency to track down and kill the Al Qaeda leader in 2011.
In May 2012, Afridi was convicted of having militants' links, which he has always denied. However, his sentence was reduced by 10 years later.
While speaking to an international media agency, Shakeel's brother Jamil Afridi said, "It is to protest the injustices and inhumane attitudes being committed against him and his family."
Afridi had no access to his lawyer for years after his arrest. His family also complained of being harassed by the authorities over the years.
On May 2, 2011, the CIA killed Osama at his house in Pakistan's Abbottabad.
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