Woman handed over to consulate

KARACHI, Dec 26: A division bench, comprising Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Rehmat Hussain Jaferi ordered that a German woman, Sosanne Gertrude, a life term convict acquitted by the high court in appeal , should be handed over by the jail authorities to the German consulate in Karachi.

German vice-consul Michael Watcher was asked to arrange visa for her to enable her to stay in Karachi after her release and pending her departure to Germany.

The bench had issued a show-cause notice to the jail authorities following a contempt petition moved by her counsel, Rana M. Shamim and Munawwar Sultana, that she was not being freed from custody by the jail authorities despite its acquittal and release order.

Women’s jail superintendent Sheeba Shah appeared in response to the notice on Friday and informed the bench that nobody came to receive Sosanne and acknowledge her receipt.

She had no visa to stay outside jail as a tourist or visitor and might have been rearrested for illegal stay. That was why the jail authorities wrote to the provincial home department for an advice. No violation of the court order was meant or involved.

Discharging the notice, the bench ordered the freed appellant’s handing over to the German consulate. Sosanne was tried by a special anti-narcotics court along with her spouse, Karl John Joseph, under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act.

The couple was arrested on Jan 31, 2002, near Marina Club when about 21 kilograms of charas and unlicensed arms were recovered from its yacht, Talas. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 100,000 on June 21, 2003, was imposed on them.

They challenged their conviction in the high court and a division bench allowed Sosanne’s appeal while maintaining the conviction and punishment of her husband.

Source: Dawn

Date:12/27/2003