Lawyers seek bail for US students held in Pakistan

LAWYERS for five young Americans accused of contacting militants over the internet and plotting terrorist attacks sought their release on bail yesterday, claiming the prosecution lacked evidence.

The students, in their twenties and from the US state of Virginia, were detained in December in the town of Sargodha, Pakistan.

They have not been formally charged, but could face lengthy prison terms if found guilty.

Mohammad Shahid Kamal Khan, a defence lawyer in Sargodha, requested bail as allegations against them were vague, adding: "No substantial evidence is available to show their guilt.

"It's a violation of their legal and fundamental rights to keep them in confinement."

The five have accused the FBI and Pakistani police of torturing them and trying to frame them. Pakistani authorities have denied the accusations of mistreatment.

"We have been threatened to be tortured again if we continued to speak out the truth," one of the five wrote on a piece of tissue paper dropped from a police van as they arrived at court.

Police have said e-mails showed they contacted Pakistani militants who had planned to use them for attacks in Pakistan.