Erik Audé

infobox actor
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|4|5
birthplace=Beverly Hills, California
occupation=Film actor

Erik Anthony Audé (born 5 April 1980 in Beverly Hills, California) is an American actor who was arrested and jailed in Pakistan for drug trafficking.

Audé was convinced to ferry leather samples from Islamabad, Pakistan to the United States by Razmik Minasian (who used the alias Rai Gharizian), an Armenian friend at the gymnasium that employed Audé. Minasian did not tell Audé that the case containing leather skirts and jackets [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmnew/is_200203/ai_kepm312684 'I'm Guilty of Being Gullible' | Newsweek | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] also contained opium. On February 15, 2002, Audé was arrested at Islamabad International Airport after, according to Pakistani authorities, being found with 3.6 kilograms [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4123279.stm BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan releases jailed US actor ] ] (7.9 pounds [ [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/12/27/backpage/18_57_0912_26_04.txt Annals of globalization - India has its own Spider-Man, tailored to local tastes : North County Times - Californian ] ] ) of opium before Audé's scheduled flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Because Pakistan is not a part of the United States' Prison Transfer Treaty program, [ [http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/oeo/docs/americans_arrested.pdf Prisoner Transfer Information for Americans Incarcerated Abroad ] ] the actor, convicted in January 2003 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4123279.stm BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan releases jailed US actor ] ] , was forced to begin serving a sentence of seven years at the Adiala Central Jail in nearby Rawalpindi. A number of stories at the time speculated on the odds of his surviving the full term of his seven year sentence. His life was in constant danger from anti-American factions within Pakistan, who had made at least one attempt on his life while he was in prison. [Smith, L. Christopher, "Among the Terrorists," "Men's Journal", August 2007, Pages 104-205]

Audé's 2004 release followed an appeal by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson just before Christmas, and followed Minasian's written confession. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1013271,00.html?iid=chix-sphere Milestones - TIME ] ] A number of websites were set up to help promote his cause, and to document the struggle to free him. The actor arrived at Los Angeles International Airport after entering the United States at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

As of 2007 Audé lives in the San Fernando Valley. [Smith, L. Christopher, "Among the Terrorists," "Men's Journal", August 2007, Page 107]

Filmography

* "Dude, Where's My Car?"

ee also

*The Yogurt Connection

References

External links

*imdb name|0041528
*amg name|2:321703
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4123279.stm article] at the BBC
* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters%5Foutlaws/cops%5Fothers/eric%5Faude/ Crime Library article]
* [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/12/27/backpage/18_57_0912_26_04.txt North County Times]