Spot-fixing convicts Asif, Butt seek transfer to Pakistani jail over safety fears

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Two former Pakistani cricketers convicted of spot-fixing have sought transfer to their home country to serve their remaining sentences over safety fears after getting undue attention from their fellow inmates.

Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif are expected to move their application seeking their transfer to a Pakistan jail to the High Court within the next eight weeks.

The former international cricketers were earlier transferred from Wandsworth Prison in south London to Canterbury Prison in Kent, which detains foreigners convicted in Britain.

Most inmates detained in the category C prison are deported at the end of their sentences.

British Pakistani businessman Dalawar Chaudhry, who visited Asif, said the latter and Butt were sharing a cell and were reluctant to leave it because the undue attention they are receiving from fellow inmates, has evoked safety fears in them.

"They are high-profile inmates who are worried about their safety. They only have each other in this country and are feeling quite vulnerable. Their families are very concerned for them,' The Independent quoted Chaudhary as saying.

Both Asif and Butt have said that if they are going to be deported at the end of their sentences, which looks very likely, then they should be allowed to leave Britain as soon as possible and finish their sentences in a Pakistani jail,' he added.

Chaudhary said attendance at Friday's Islamic prayers have dramatically increased with the arrival of Asif and Butt which has made them more nervous as they don't know who to trust.

He also criticised their decision to seek transfer to a Pakistani jail, where high profile inmates stay comfortably and are allowed to return home at night.

Asif has been sentenced for one-year imprisonment and Butt for two-and-a-half years, for their involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in which they agreed to bowl pre-arranged no-balls in return for money during the 2010 Pakistan's Test match against England.