Mohammad Aamer faces visa problems causing delay in appearance before London magistrate
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s banned pace bowler Mohammad Aamer was to leave for London yesterday to appear before a magistrate in England in a case against him of conspiring to defraud bookies in England. However, due to visa problems, he is expected to leave today.
Fellow banned players, former skipper Salman Butt left for England yesterday. Mohammad Asif is already in London.
According to a local newspaper, Aamer’s lawyer - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-c89347 Karim - has informed the English authorities about the situation and has asked for a revised date for the hearing as a precautionary measure, in case Aamer’s visa issues don’t get resolved soon.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent its legal adviser Tafazul Rizvi to observe the proceedings against the three players. The PCB has distanced itself from all activities related to the case and the three players.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has assured that the banned cricketers would not be held by the law enforcement authorities in England. The CPS reiterated that the players were summoned only to attend the court hearing.
Talking on the matter, the press officer of CPS said, “It would not be necessary to detain the players in London. Defendants, who are summoned, are not usually arrested or detained before their first court appearance. The police would only become involved
if the players were in the country but did not attend the hearing.” According to the CPS, the players only faced charges of corruption during the Lords Test in England last year.
If the players fail to prove their innocence, they could face prison sentences in England. The players have already been banned for at least five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC) from all formats of the game after they were found guilty of
involvement in spot-fixing during the Lords Test match. The ICC’s Anti-Corruption Tribunal conducted a hearing in Doha, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Qatar-c2986, in January in which the players pleaded their innocence. However, the tribunal ruled that there was enough evidence to convict the
players and impose bans on them. Butt has been banned for 10 years with a five-year suspended sentence, Asif has been banned for seven years with a two-year suspended sentence and Aamer for five years.
During the period of their bans, the players are not to take part in any cricket-related activity sanctioned by the ICC or its member cricket boards. Nevertheless, the players can take up private jobs related to cricket.
Last year, the cricketing world was rattled by the revelations of an English tabloid ‘News of the World’ which published articles claiming that the three players had links with a bookmaker – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed. Aamer and Asif were accused of deliberately bowling
three no-balls after taking bribes from Majeed. Butt was accused of being the arbitrator between them.
Video evidence was released by the tabloid after which the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Scotland-c756 Yard took over investigation of the matter. The three players were immediately barred from taking part in the remaining matches of the Pakistan-England series by the PCB. The ICC also stopped
them from taking part in any international/domestic cricket event before their hearing by the anti-corruption tribunal.
It is believed that the careers of Butt and Asif have already ended because of the ban. However, Aamer still has a chance to make a comeback in international cricket after his ban ends owing to his young age (18).
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