Pakistani migrants who claim they were kidnapped by secret agents last summer said yesterday they felt vindicated by a prosecutor’s decision to press charges in the case, while the government said it would wait for justice to run its course before commenting.

“We feel we have won a major battle. We have spoken the truth and the prosecutor has believed us,” Javed Aslam, head of the Unity of Pakistan organization in Athens, told reporters during a press conference he held with some of the 28 men who claim they were abducted.

“I feel vindicated today but I am still afraid because there are threats from many sides for us to reverse our testimony and say nothing happened,” said Raja Rafakat, one of those who claim they were kidnapped.

The government said that the prosecutor’s decision to press charges of abduction against “persons unknown” did not prove anything yet. “The government will wait for the completion of the judicial investigation,” said alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros.