US protesters demand release and repatriation of Aafia Siddiqui | News

Boston, USA – Dozens of protesters and human rights activists are calling on the Pakistani government to work to end the ongoing detention of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui in the United States.

The protesters gathered in front of the Pakistani consulate in New York with pictures and banners on Wednesday to denounce Siddiqui’s situation and to urge the Pakistani government to actively seek their immediate release and repatriation.

“Free, Free Aafia,” the demonstrators shouted unanimously.

The rally was part of a series of protests organized by a coalition of more than 20 local and national human rights and religious groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Similar protests are planned in Boston and Washington DC in the coming weeks.

Who is Aafia Siddiqui?

Siddiqui, a US-trained Pakistani national, was charged with attempting to kill US soldiers and FBI agents during interrogation after her arrest in 2008 in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.

She was flown to the United States and sentenced to 86 years in prison after a New York court found the 49-year-old mother of three guilty of attempted murder and assault in 2010.

Siddiqui received her bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995 and her PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University in Boston before returning to Pakistan in 2003.

According to her family, Siddiqui and her three children were abducted by Pakistani intelligence immediately after their return.

She appeared in Afghanistan in 2008 and was denied by the Afghan police on suspicion of planning a suicide bombing and possession of chemical weapons and dirty bomb manufacturing notes from her family and lawyers.

She is currently in the Federal Medical Center (FMC) jail in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Victims of the US War on Terror”

Mosaab Sadeia, a 21-year-old member of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York and one of the organizers of the New York protest, said Siddiqui was a victim of the US’s so-called “war on terror” and was “wrongly” imprisoned.

“She is a prisoner of conscience, a political prisoner, and a victim of the US war on terror. We are here to tell the Pakistani government to stand up for its citizens and ensure their freedom, ”Sadeia told Al Jazeera.

Author and antiwar activist Sarah Flounders has followed Siddiqui’s case for more than a decade, believing it to be innocent.

“She is a victim of a secret rendition. I participated in their trial. It was just a show trial and a site of the war on terror, ”Flounders told Al Jazeera on the phone.

“The US government should free them immediately and reunite them with their children.”

Activist Sarah Flounders addresses the protesters calling for the release of Aafia Siddiqui. demand [Courtesy of Mahtab Khan]

The protesters also accused the prison officials of inhumanly treating Siddiqui. In July, a inmate attacked her with a mug of hot liquid and later put her in solitary confinement.

“It burned her eyes and could have permanently damaged her. There were visible bruises on her arm, ”Siddiqui’s lawyer Marwa Elbially told Al Jazeera.

Kristie A Breshears, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons, confirmed to Al Jazeera that they were aware of the incident but declined to provide further details.

“We are aware of the reported incident that is the subject of pending litigation. For privacy and security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not discuss information about the conditions of individual inmates, nor do we comment on pending litigation or matters that are subject to legal proceedings, ”Breshears wrote in an email response to Al Jazeera.

“Daughter of the nation”

In Pakistan, the Siddiqui case has received tremendous support across the political divide.

In 2018, the Pakistani Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling it the “Daughter of the Nation”. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has expanded his support for negotiations with the US government on the release of Siddiqui on several occasions.

In July 2019, after meeting then-US President Donald Trump, Khan told the media that the release of Shakeel Afridi in exchange for Siddiqui might be an option in the future.

Afridi is a Pakistani surgeon allegedly recruited by the CIA to track down and track down Osama bin Laden, which eventually led to the murder of bin Laden.

In 2012, Afridi was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a Pakistani court under a colonial treason law. His appeal is pending in a Peshawar Supreme Court.

Maliha Shahid, spokeswoman for the Pakistani embassy in Washington, said Siddiqui’s case remains a government priority.

“Their detention and their conditions of detention remain a matter of debate between the governments of Pakistan and the US. Our Consul General in Houston equips Dr. Aafia makes regular visits to ensure their welfare, ”Shahid told Al Jazeera.

Protesters across the United States hold placards calling for Aafia Siddiqui to be released and repatriated. high [Courtesy of Mahtab Khan]

Growing support for US publishing

In recent months, calls in the US for the release and repatriation of Siddiqui have intensified.

Last month, the Boston local branch of the United Steelworkers union passed a resolution calling on the US government to release Siddiqui and allow independent Doctors from MSF to visit to investigate her mental and physical injuries.

“This is one of the most egregious and outrageous cases showing the violation of human rights and international law by the US government. We can’t go anywhere in the world and kidnap anyone, ”Stevan Kirschbaum, the union’s vice president, told Al Jazeera.

“Our resolution aims to highlight the case of injustice inflicted on Aafia Siddiqui and bring it to the living room of the US,” he added.

Imam Omar Suleiman, a prominent American Muslim scholar and civil rights activist, demonstrated outside the FMC prison last month to publicize Siddiqui’s imprisonment.

This is a personal appeal to @ImranKhanPTI on behalf of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui from the prison at the FMC Carswell Military Reserve Base.

I hope you will see that. Sister Aafia is being held in appalling conditions here in Texas. Bring her home. #Free_Sister_Aafia pic.twitter.com/qp52A5heEo

– Dr. Omar Suleiman (@ omarsuleiman504) September 20, 2021

“She is a woman who has been kidnapped, tortured and unjustly detained. Nothing about her charges makes sense and there is no legal basis for her being held in the United States, ”Suleiman told Al Jazeera.

“She deserves to be liberated and returned home to live with her family in peace and dignity rather than a dungeon in Texas.”