Mirza Tahir Hussain, the Briton released from a Pakistani jail after spending 18 years on death row, said upon returning home on Friday that he wanted to use the "great gift" of his freedom to get to know his family again.
The bearded, greying 36-year-old sat before television cameras at London's Heathrow Airport as his local European lawmaker, Sajjad Karim, read out a statement, thanking those who helped secure his freedom.
"It has been a tremendous strain to be separated from my family and loved ones. I thank God for giving me the faith and strength to persevere. Freedom is a great gift. I want to use this freedom to get to know my family again, to adjust back to living here and to come to terms with my ordeal," the statement said.
Afterwards, Mirza Tahir Hussain himself spoke briefly in a weak voice to add: "I'm glad to be back home, thank you very much", before wiping away tears and leaving the room.
The statement had also thanked President Pervez Musharraf for showing "courage and leadership" in releasing him as well as Britain's Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair. He touched down the day after his murder conviction was commuted and he was released for time served following lobbying by his family and others.
Earlier on Friday, his brother Amjad Hussain told reporters that Mirza Tahir Hussain was "overjoyed" at his release, and said their mother was looking forward to holding him in her arms again. But he warned that his brother - who was incarcerated aged 18, has spent half his life behind bars and seen his execution stayed four times - would take time to adjust to life back home.
"He has to make that transition," he said at a press conference at Amnesty International's Human Rights Action Centre in east London. "He will need help, counselling and rehabilitation. "He's paid a terrible price for something that he never did."
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