Actor’s Fate Is in Pakistan’s Hands

In Washington, State Department officials say they have done all they can for Erik Aude. In Lancaster, his former teachers at Bethel Christian School are praying for him.

The fate of the budding actor and former high school football star now lies with the Pakistani justice system, which has been holding the 21-year-old Antelope Valley resident on suspicion of opium possession since his arrest on Feb. 15.

Aude, who was arrested in the Islamabad airport allegedly carrying 3,600 grams of opium, could be sentenced to death, U.S. officials said. Pakistani officials, however, have told the State Department he is more likely to face 10 years to life in prison, said Christopher Lamora, spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs in Washington.

Aude’s friends and family describe the situation as a nightmare. His mother, Sherry Aude, said he is innocent. She said she has run up huge phone bills looking for a good Pakistani lawyer.

“This child’s an up-and-coming actor,” said Aude, who runs a small Lancaster casting company.

“He can make this kind of money in a week.”

Erik Aude was a two-time All-Southern Section defensive end at Bethel Christian, which held a prayer service for him last week. He played a quarterback on the TV series “Reba,” and a “muscle head” in the teen movie “Dude, Where’s My Car?”

He is in a jail just south of Islamabad and will be arraigned Saturday, U.S. officials said. His mother said he has witnessed the hanging of numerous fellow inmates and has been threatened by others.

While the State Department is trying to make sure Aude is not mistreated, there is little else it can do if he is found guilty, Lamora said.

“We are expressing our interest in the well-being of this American citizen [to local authorities],” he said. “But if someone breaks the law in a foreign country, they are subject to the penalties of that country.”

Pakistan is struggling in its fight against opium traffickers, especially from neighboring Afghanistan, one of the world’s top opium producers, State Department officials said. Pakistan also has one of the worst heroin addiction problems, with 1.5 million to 3 million users.

The country came under fire in a recent State Department human rights report, which cited incidents of prisoners being tortured, jailed on false charges and held after their sentences expired.