LONDON, Nov 18: Mirza Tahir Hussain, the man who spent 18 years on death row in Pakistan, arrived here on Friday and was immediately taken to an undisclosed location south of England to help him adjust to life outside prison.

He is expected to join his family in Leeds after about a week during which he will undergo rehabilitation process including counselling and medical tests.

Mr Hussain, 36, was convicted in 1989 when he was only 18 of murdering a taxi driver, but maintained the killing was in self-defence.

On arrival at the Heathrow Airport, Mr Hussain thanked those who campaigned for his release and said: “I am glad to be home.”

In a statement read on his behalf by MEP Sajjad Haider Karim, he said: “It has been a tremendous strain to be separated from my family and loved ones. 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. My thoughts remain with all the prisoners I have left behind.”

Originally acquitted of the murder by a high court, an Islamic court sentenced him to death in 1998.

His execution was stayed several times, most recently until the end of this year.