Bizman held in Spain 6 yrs ago returns after charges dropped

     

Roshan Jamal Khan was released from a Spain jail after six years

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Roshan Jamal Khan, now 56, who spent six years in Spain’s jails, returned home this week after the government dropped charges of terrorism and plot to bomb Metro trains in six countries. Khan and his family say they did not receive any cooperation from the Indian Embassy and that they are preparing to file a defamation suit and demand compensation from the Spain government.
 

    Jamal, a St Xavier’s College graduate, went to Spain in January 2008 to look for options in olive oil trade. On January 17, he was picked up from Tarique Bin Ziyad mosque in Barcelona along with an Indian and 12 Pakistanis. “I was reciting Quran. Suddenly, I heard a blast and some masked people, holding guns, handcuffed and blindfolded everyone and whisked them away,” said Khan on Friday while addressing the media near Metro Cinema in south Mumbai (see pic).
    Khan, a Jogeshwari resident, was told that he was detained on charges of terrorism. “I was kept in Calabozo (a high security prison) which was dark and stinking,” said Khan. 

    Among the 11 who faced the charges, Khan was the lone Indian. Probe by the CBI and ATS cleared him of all terror charges in India. Narrating the trauma, Khan said he was mentally tortured. “No one from the Indian Embassy came to meet me for four months. Cops would take my signature on blank paper. As I did not understand Spanish, I had no option but to sign.”
 

    Khan was charged with assembling explosives. Despite the judge not being convinced, Khan was sentenced for eight years in 2010. A year later, his appeal came in the Spanish apex court which dropped the charges. But he was charged for association with an armed gang.
 

    During his stay in Spain, Khan lost his father on September 28, 2010. A day later, his mother died. “My daughter quit studies, my son who wanted to be an engineer had to take another course for lack of fund, my youngest daughter was not allowed in exams for not paying fees. My brother Mehboob took care of them,” said Khan.

The Times of India, January 25, 2014