Islamabad arrests blacklisted American after he returns to Pakistan
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 August 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Islamabad arrests blacklisted American after he returns to Pakistan, 6 August 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57db99c54.html [accessed 4 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
August 06, 2016
Pakistani officials say an American citizen who previously was deported from Pakistan and blacklisted years ago has been arrested upon returning to the country.
Sarfaraz Hussain, a spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry, said on August 6 that the country's Federal Investigation Agency arrested Mathew Craig Barrett at an Islamabad guesthouse.
Barrett, a 33-year-old from Alabama, was arrested and deported from Pakistan in 2011 after being found in the Fateh Jang area, near a secret military research facility.
Hussain did not elaborate on Barrett's previous arrest, but said, "If someone was blacklisted, there should have been something serious."
Barrett had lived in Pakistan for four years before he was deported. He married a Pakistani woman and had two children.
In a letter smuggled from jail in 2011 to The Guardian newspaper, Barret strongly denied he was a spy.
He claimed he was a victim of simmering tensions at the time between the U.S. and Pakistani governments.
Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and The Guardian
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
