LONDON: Two Pakistani cricketers convicted of fixing and awarded jail terms by a UK court have asked to be returned to Pakistan, to serve the remainder of their sentence, Britain’s The Independent reported.
The former Test captain Salman Butt and the fast bowler Mohammad Asif have told their lawyers that they would prefer to be sent to a jail in Pakistan, because the attention they are receiving from fellow inmates is leading to fears for their safety. A High Court application is expected to be made within the next eight weeks, the paper noted.The former international cricketers made the request to return to Pakistan after they were transferred this week from Wandsworth Prison in south London to Canterbury Prison in Kent, which specialises in holding foreign nationals convicted in Britain. Most inmates held at the category C prison are deported at the end of their sentences. Butt and Asif have told lawyers and close associates that they would prefer to be in a Pakistani jail.
The report said: “The influential British Pakistani businessman Dalawar Chaudhry visited Asif this week. He said that the former pace bowler and Butt were sharing a cell and were reluctant to leave it, because of the undue attention they are receiving from fellow inmates”.
Asif was jailed for one year and Butt for two-and-a-half years, for their involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in which they agreed to bowl pre-arranged no-balls in return for money during the Lord’s Test against England in the summer of 2010.
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