Bin Laden Wives Charged With Illegally Entering Pakistan

2011 was a pretty bad year for the wives of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden- who was assassinated by Navy SEALs in May in Pakistan after a decade on the run- and 2012 is not shaping up to be any better for the terrorist mastermind’s spouses.

The three women were present when Bin Laden was cornered and killed by the troops, and were taken into custody in Pakistan. Since their arrest after the raid, the women have been under house arrest in what Pakistani officials say is a “comfortable” civilian home with five bedrooms. Information about the charges is scant, but the New York Times quoted one Pakistani official who had this to say about the legal action against Bin Laden’s wives, the first since their arrests:

“A case has been filed against the wives but not against any of the children,” [Interior Minister Rehman] Malik was quoted as saying. However, he offered few details other than to say the family had failed to provide any travel documents, and he declined to comment when the hearing against the wives took place or when a trial would begin.”

According to Malik, the women’s children could be repatriated to their countries of origin at some point during proceedings, but the conditions under which repatriation could occur were not immediately clear. Malik declined to say when the hearing during which Bin Laden’s wives were formally charged occurred, and no official timeline was given for a progression of hearing dates or decisions in the case.