Osama bin Laden’s three widows and two of his daughters have been convicted of illegally living in Pakistan by one of the country’s courts and jailed for 45 days.
They have been in detention since last May when US commandos killed bin Laden at the house in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad where he was living with his family.
Family lawyer Mohammed Amir Khalil said the sentence included time already served since they were formally arrested on March 3rd, so they will serve another two weeks in prison and then will be deported with their children.
The case treads on a number of sensitive issues for Pakistan. The army faced rare domestic criticism following the US raid because they were powerless to stop it. Critics also said bin Laden’s presence in the country for so long either pointed to the military’s incompetence or complicity.
Two of the widows are Saudi and one is Yemeni. Mr Khalil said Yemen has consented to the return, but he is still in discussions with Saudi officials.