The
Struggle For The Freedom Of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui MUST
Continue...
26 November 2010By El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Assalaamu Alaikum (Greetings of Peace):
The following article titled "The Case of Dr. Aafia
Siddiqui: A Profile in Persecution and Faith," appears
in the latest edition of the Washington Report On
Middle East Affairs (December 2010, Vol. XXIX, No.9,
page 36). While it had to be slightly edited because
of space limitations, it appears in this posting in
its unedited entirety.
Immediately following the article is a summary of our
recent initiative (on Aafia's behalf) at the Pakistani
Consulate in New York City, followed by a number of
other information briefs. Please share this
information with others; and if you are not now an
active supporter of this persecuted Muslim woman,
please consider becoming one.
The Case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui: A
Profile in Persecution and Faith
Dr. Aafia Siddiqi came to America from Pakistan as an
18 year old student. She attended the University of
Houston (Texas) before matriculating to Boston's MIT,
where she earned her bachelors degree in biology. She
later earned her PhD at Brandeis University, with an
academic focus on "How children learn" (the title of
her thesis).
Not long after the tragedy of September 11, 2001,
Aafia and her former husband, Dr. Amjad Khan (a
practicing physician), decided to return to Pakistan
as a result of the corrosive post 9/11 atmosphere that
impacted law abiding Muslims throughout America. By
late 2002, following an acrimonious separation and
divorce, Aafia decided return to the U.S. alone in
order to pursue work in her professional field.
In 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice publicly
identified Dr. Aafia Siddiqui as someone believed to
be an "Al-Qaeda facilitator." In March of that same
year, after departing her family's home in Karachi
(Pakistan) to visit an uncle in Islamabad, the taxi
that she and her three young children were traveling
in was stopped; they were forcibly removed, and then
disappeared without a trace. (The two oldest, Ahmed
and Maryam, are American citizens by birth. Suleman,
who was only six months old at the time of their
abduction, still remains missing to this day.)
In 2008, four Muslim men escaped from the American
controlled prison at Bagram (Afghanistan) and
recounted their observations and experiences in a
series of interviews. They told stories about a
Pakistani woman (known only as "Prisoner 650") who was
routinely tortured at the prison. Additional details
about this mysterious woman led those in the know to
suspect she might be Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
Shortly after the release of a special investigative
report by British journalist Yvonne Ridley, an
emaciated Aafia Siddiqui was released onto the streets
of Ghazni (Afghanistan) in the company of a child she
was told was Ahmed. Immediately following her release,
an anonymous person called Afghan authorities to
report a strange woman believed to be a suicide bomber
hanging around the governor's compound. Aafia was soon
re-arrested by Afghan authorities and taken to a
police compound to await interrogation. What happened
next is the stuff from which award winning dramas are
made.
The U.S. government claims that shortly after American
soldiers and FBI agents arrived at the compound to
take Dr. Siddiqui into their custody, she charged
through a curtain, grabbed a soldier's M4 rifle off
the floor, took the safety off and fired it at the
U.S. personnel in the room (while screaming
anti-American expletives). Aafia's version is
dramatically different, however. She testified that
when she heard the voices of Americans entering the
room, she immediately thought about the "secret
prison," and not wanting to go back. As she peered
through the curtain for an escape route, one of the
soldiers saw her and panicked. He shouted out, `The
prisoner is free!' - took out his sidearm and fired
twice into her stomach.
After receiving emergency treatment and being
stabilized, Aafia was brought to the U.S. barely alive
and charged with "attempting to murder U.S. personnel"
overseas.
Of special note is the fact that NOT ONE TERRORISM
CHARGE was leveled against her in the criminal
indictment. This would be of little consolation to the
accused, however; because the presiding judge, Richard
Berman, would give the prosecution practically
everything it wanted; most significantly, a ban on any
testimony that would shine a light on the missing five
years of secret imprisonment overseas(2003-2008).
Aafia spent about a year and a half in a maximum
security detention center in Brooklyn, New York, in
pre-trial conditions that violated the U.S.
Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."
During the short trial that began earlier this year
(Feb 2010) there were blatant inconsistencies in the
testimonies of the government's star witnesses, and
material evidence that clearly favored the defendant.
Despite this, however, Aafia was found guilty on all
seven counts of the indictment, in what could aptly be
described as a reverse form of jury nullification. On
September 23, 2010, following three postponements,
Aafia would finally be back in court for sentencing.
The government's argument revolved around Aafia's
alleged hatred toward, and desire to kill Americans.
As lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney
Christopher LaVigne stated: "This was not some random
act. On that day the bottom line is, she saw her
chance and she took it." While defense attorney Dawn
M. Cardi drew attention to the government's
obstructions (i.e. her failed attempts to access
"classified evidence" relevant to the case), and the
"mental illness" and "diminished capacity" that Aafia
suffered as a result of her [now] seven year long
ordeal.
As Judge Berman clumsily outlined his reasoning behind
the barbaric sentence he was about to impose, he
applied a number of federal "enhancements" that didn't
really make sense. When he announced the sentence of
"86 years of imprisonment for Dr. Siddiqui," Sara
Flounders, of the International Action Center, shouted
out in the courtroom: "Shame, Shame, Shame on this
court!" After which she was threatened with removal.
Aafia Siddiqui was the embodiment of faith and grace
when she addressed the court following her sentence.
She turned toward the witnesses in the courtroom
seated behind her, and counseled her supporters to not
become "emotional." She insisted that she was content
with the qadr (or will) of God. She counseled those
present, and those who would get the news later, to
not be angry "at anyone involved in this case."
"I am one person, and the Prophet Mohammed, peace be
upon him, forgave all of his personal enemies. Forgive
everybody in my case, please…the world is full of
injustices, I am just one person…and also forgive
Judge Berman."
She also stated, "I don't want any bloodshed…I want
peace and to end all wars."
When Judge Berman informed the defendant of her right
to appeal his verdict, Aafia's response was: "I appeal
to God…and he hears me."
In a recent article titled, "Injustice in the Age of
Obama," anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan wrote the
following: "Even if Dr. Siddiqui did shoot at the
Americans, reflect on this. Say this case was being
tried in Pakistan under similar circumstances for an
American woman named Dr. Betty Brown, who was captured
and repeatedly tortured and raped by the ISI. Here in
the states that woman would be a hero if she shot at
her captors - not demonized and taken away from her
life and her children. I believe Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is
a political prisoner and now the political bogey-woman
for two US regimes."
To end on a positive note, within days of Aafia's
sentencing there were demonstrations in a number of
Pakistan's cities, to demand the return of the woman
now dubbed the "daughter of Pakistan." In Karachi
alone an estimated one million people took to the
streets. But even more remarkable is the fact that
there were no deaths, and few injuries or arrests.
Aafia's call for no violence in her name was heard and
generally adhered to in a profoundly powerful way. And
the struggle continues.
Three armed men tried to kidnap children of
Dr. Afia Siddiqui from her house in Karachi. Interior
Minister Rehman Malik has directed IG Sind to submit
report on the incident.
Sister of Dr. Afia, Dr Fauzia Siddiqui told Dunya News
that she was in hospital when three armed men broke
into her home. Children of Dr. Afia were on the roof
of the house. They called the guard who fired some
round in the air. Meanwhile Dr. Afia's mother also
came on the roof, after which the armed men ran away.
Dr. Fauzia said she has informed police and Interior
Minister Rehman Malik about the incident. She told
that the kidnappers also brought bags to put the
children in and take away.
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
The struggle for the freedom of our sister continues.
You can help by: (a) sharing this information with
others; (b) by writing a letter to request Aafia's
release and repatriation and addressing it to the
officials below; (c) by making a financial
contribution to this ongoing campaign.
Eric Holder: Attorney General, U.S. Department of
Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC
20530-0001, Tel: 202-353-1555, Email: AskDoJ@usdoj.gov
Hilary Clinton: Secretary of State, U.S. Department of
State, 2201 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20520, Tel:
+1 202 647 4000, Fax: +1 202 261 8577, Email:
questions@friendsofhillary.com
Mr. Asif Ali Zardari: President of Pakistan,
President's Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Email:
publicmail@president.gov.pk, Tel
92-51-9204801-9214171, Fax 92-51-9207458
Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani: Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Prime Minister House, Islamabad, PAKISTAN,
Fax: + 92 51 9221596, Email: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk
Mr. Rehman Malik: Minister of Interior, Room No. 404,
4th Floor, R Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad,
PAKISTAN, Fax: +92 51 920 2624, Tel: +92 51 9921
2026, E-mail: minister@interior.gov.pk,
ministry.interior@gmail.com, interior.complaintcell@gmail.com
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi: Foreign Minister,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad, Pakistan, Tel:
+92 51 921 0335, Fax: +92 51 920 7600, Email:
smhq148@hotmail.com
The ongoing advocacy efforts being made in the
court of international public opinion are absolutely
essential. Please lend your material support to those
grassroots organizations - both here and abroad - who
have been sincerely and consistently struggling to
make a difference.
Freedom is not Free! It requires struggle, sacrifice,
and material support!
You can contribute to the work of The Peace Thru
Justice Foundation by sending a check or money order
to the following:
The Peace Thru Justice Foundation
11006 Veirs Mill Rd
STE L-15, PMB 298
Silver Spring, MD. 20902
Mauri' Saalakhan is a Metropolitan Washington,
DC, based human rights advocate, who serves as
Director of Operations for The Peace Thru Justice
Foundation.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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