MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) – The Pakistani police and the country’s public prosecutor said Friday that eight out of 10 militants charged with involvement in the 2012 attack on teenage activist and later Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai were actually acquitted in April – and not sentenced to life in prison as reported at the time.
The stunning announcement, which first came from Pakistan’s deputy police chief, Azad Khan, offered no explanation as to why authorities had remained silent for so many weeks or why they had failed to correct the facts earlier.
In April, public prosecutor Sayed Naeem said 10 militants charged over the attack were all convicted by an anti-terrorism court and sentenced to life imprisonment. At the time, he said the court announced the ruling at an undisclosed location because of security concerns.
On Friday, Naeem said only two of the militants were imprisoned for life while the others were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The prosecutor claimed reporters misquoted him at the time. He refused to further discuss the case and only added that he had already filed an appeal against the acquittal of the eight men.