OTTAWA – A Canadian national who was held hostage by Afghan Taliban and was rescued by Pakistan Army in October was arrested in his home country on 15 charges including sexual assault, illegal confinement and issuing death threats.
The charges against Joshua Boyle include eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, one count of uttering a death threat, two counts of unlawful confinement, one count of forcing an individual to ingest a noxious substance and one count of misleading police.
Interestingly, according to the court document, all the offences took place between October and December, when he was in Canada after his dramatic recovery by Pakistan’s armed troops.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/canadian-national-joshua-boyles-parents-laud-pak-army-for-rescue-operation/
The identity of the alleged victims was being withheld by a court, according to Boyle’s lawyer Eric Granger who contended that Boyle was “presumed innocent” and had never been in any form of legal trouble before.
“We look forward to receiving the evidence and defending him against these charges,” he said, adding Boyle would appear before a court in Ottawa on Wednesday after he made his first appearance on Monday.
On the other hand, Boyle’s wife, who happens to be an American national, in a statement to ‘The Toronto Star’ did not comment on the specific charges but said her husband endured stress for a couple of years and was responsible for his own actions.
“I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this,” Coleman Caitlan said.
“With compassion and forgiveness that I… hope help and healing can be found for him,”Caitlan added.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/freed-canadian-joshua-boyle-negates-pak-armys-support-to-haqqani-network/
Joshua Boyle and his wife, Caitlan Coleman, were held by the Haqqani network, a semi-independent wing of the Afghan Taliban in the summer of 2012 when they were on a backpacking trip through war-torn Afghanistan.
The couple was rescued by Pakistan Army in the northwest area, near the Afghan border in a late-night ambush in October.
The couple was sent back to Canada soon after the recovery following which Boyle’s father lavished praise on Pakistan Army for their operation that led to the recovery of Boyle, his wife and three children.
