Bail Hearing Before September 11th (Dr. Afia Part III)

(Originally posted on September 1, 2008 on chowraha)

In a recent development of the case of Dr. Afia Siddiqui, her lawyer has demanded the American government to immediately allow Dr. Afia to be hospitalized in order for her to be treated for her critical health condition.

 

In a press conference held recently Elizabeth Fink shared that Dr. Afia’s health was deteriorating and the US officials had been approached in this regard. The lawyer further said Dr. Afia was being incarcerated and abused on the name of search by US authorities. This fact was first made public by UK House of Lords Member, Lord Nazir Ahmed who raised the issue in the House. He referred to her as Prisoner 650, as was disclosed by Moazzam Beg in his book when talking about the only female prisoner in Bagram jail (For background, refer to Part I of this series).

Lord Nazir brought to the notice of House of Lords the condition of this prisoner saying that she was physically tortured and repeatedly raped by officers in the Bagram prison. It was further disclosed that Dr. Afia or Prisoner 650 was being forced to share the same toilet facilities as her male counterparts where she would have to attend to her bathing and other needs in full view of the male prisoners.

It seems that this humiliation continues in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn where Dr. Afia is being held now. Lawyer Elizabeth has shared that the authorities continue to strip search Dr. Afia each time she leaves her detention room to meet with her attorneys, sympathizers, Pakistani diplomats or family and friends.

Thanks to the public pressure applied on the United States and Pakistani officials since the disclosure of Dr. Afia’s case and the joining hands of the human rights activists, well-wishers and concerned citizens around the world, Afia Siddiqui now  faces the prospect of a Political Trial. Whereas it is a ray of hope for the detained woman, it is obvious that the America government was not left with many options to protect itself from embarrassment.

It is interesting to point out here that the court where her case is being held and will be listened to in the future too, is not even half a mile away from Ground Zero - the site where the World Trade Center stood previously. The location plays a tremendous role in winning the emotional appeal of the Americans hurt by the 9/11 memories. It will further play a massive role in continuing to display Dr. Afia as a dangerous terrorist. The bail hearing is scheduled to be held right after the American Labor Day weekend, during the time when the Republican Convention will be held and very interestingly just before the September 11th. It will not be surprising if the Republicans use terror as their playing card to win the favors in the upcoming elections. It should, therefore, not be difficult to figure out how the venue and dates have been selected to manipulate the case against the Prisoner.

 

Earlier it was also revealed that the US officials had admitted to holding the custody of Dr. Afia’s eldest son, Ahmed. The whereabouts of her other children has still not been disclosed. The youngest child is supposed to be 5 years old now. (For further details, please refer to Part II of this series). Perhaps the only reason behind holding innocent young children for 5 years with their mother is because if left free, they could bear witness to the inhumanity subjected to Prisoner 650.  

 

A public campaign has been launched for the release of her children. Dr. Afia’s sympathizers are being asked to send post cards on her address. It has been further arranged via Barnes & Nobles that the general public may buy books, newspapers and magazines for her which the publishers can directly mail on her address. This is being encouraged in order to keep her morale boosted as well as to show the massive support for her justice. Dr. Afia’s team is also encouraging donations for her cause.

 

In a case which has made much head way and yet questions such as Who exactly was responsible for her disappearance? Why was she detained with no charge at Bagram, where her other children are etc remaining unanswered, it becomes more important for the general public to remain aware of the details of the case. It further makes us responsible for raising our voices, expressing our concerns and keeping the mainstream media on its toes about the case. This is the only check we have to ensure that we do not turn immune to the injustice several such prisoners are being subjected to around the world. It is to keep reminding ourselves that in public lies the real power and hope for the future. 

 

Developments in the case of Dr. Afia [Dr. Afia - Part II]

Originally posted on August 26, 2008 on chowraha)

Various news clippings, blogs, alerts from human rights organizations around the world are speaking of a woman illegally abducted along with her three young children by American and Pakistani Intelligence and now facing trial in the United States. How did she reach this stage where there seems to be a ray of hope for her tragedy? Purely thanks to the voices that rose around the world asking where and how Dr. Afia was. Not only do we now know where Dr. Afia is but also recently the US officials have admitted to detaining one of her children in their custody. Unfortunately, even now, it is unclear where the other children are.

Dr. Afia was ‘lost‘for almost five years from the face of earth as far as her family, friends, sympathisers and the general public was concerned. An MIT grad with a PhD in neurology, she returned in Feb 2003 to Pakistan, with her children aged between three and a half months and 7 years, after residing in the United States for almost 10 years. At this point the United States had begun declaring her as a terrorist based on the claim that that the post box was hired for an alleged Al-Qaeda member named Majid Khan (Newsweek International, June 23, 2003). Her family denies these claims saying that the post box was co that she could receive her job inquiries and letters, since she was looking for a suitable job.

In March 2003, on her way to the airport in order to fly to Rawalpindi from Karachi, she was kidnapped by intelligence along with her children. The Pakistani government immediately denied her arrest . The FBI, on the other hand, claims In the same Newsweek article, authored by eight journalists, that Dr. Afia Siddiqui was arrested. In a letter published in Dawn Newspaper, April 2003, there are claims by the victim’s family, that unidentifiable men visited their home during the same time warning them against speaking up about their daughter who was safe in their custody.

Since the Newsweek International article, there has been quiet on her subject and denial by both American and Pakistani officials. Her name only resurfaced in early July when the US authorities indicted her in New York based on charges that she had “attempted” killing US officials. They deny having any thing to do with her disappearance for 5 years and claim to have arrested her on July 17^th 2008.

As Pakistan celebrated its independence this August, Dr. Afia Siddiqui and her three children could only wish for the word “freedom.” The silence on her story has been shattered successfully only to reveal bitter truths about the case. FBI has indeed accepted arresting Dr. Afia announcing only as little as “Dr. Afia Siddiqui is alive, she is in Afghanistan but she is injured.” Dr. Afia’s sister and brother were visited in the United States to be told of their sister’s whereabouts. At this point, they had absolutely nothing to say about her children, the eldest being 12 year old now, who were unlawfully abducted with their mother.

Moazzam Beg, a Guantanamo released-prisoner from Great Britain, was amongst the first to speak about supposed Dr. Afia in his book called the Enemy Combatant. He mentions her as a certain Prisoner 650. She happened to be the only female prisoner in Bagram (located in Afghanistan), one of the most traumatic jails next to Guantanamo for the prisoners of “War on Terror.” In the same book, other prisoners from Guantanamo, who had been through Bagram, have admitted to hearing the screams of the same woman.

Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist who was kidnapped by the Taliban and later turned to Islam after her release, believes that Prisoner 650 may be Dr. Afia Siddiqui. She calls her the Grey Lady. In a press conference on July 6, 2008 Ridley, said “I call her the ‘grey lady’ because she is almost a ghost, a spectre whose cries and screams continues to haunt those who heard her,” While in Bagram, Dr. Afia was being made to share the same cell as her male counterparts, having been constantly inducted to mental torture of having to use the toilet in public, perhaps even being raped by the soldiers (according to several articles written on her abduction).

This last month has made more headway than the last five years in the case of Dr. Afia and her children. She now faces trial in New York. Human rights activists, sympathizers, concerned public at large has been rallying for her cause in the United States, in UK and of course in Pakistan. Pakistanis around the world have been voicing their concern for her fair trial and for her children’s release. Dr. Fawzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr. Afia, has been making public speeches in the United States reaffirming that her sister was innocent and illegally abducted. She announced to having received a letter “from the office of US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Michael J Gracia late Friday in which he acknowledged of having in custody Aafia Siddiqui’s eldest son, Ahmed, who will turn 12 years old in November.” { http://www.freshnews.in/us-admits-holding-teenage-son-of-pakistani-scientist-58060}

Ahmed’s disclosure is better than not hearing any thing about all three children. Afia’s family is hopeful that this is a positive sign in the development of her case. The least that Dr. Afia., her children, her family and the story of such prisoners in Afghanistan and Guantanamo expect is public anger and call for justice. The only hope, after all, lies in this too.

Pakistan Sells Its Mothers for Money (Dr. Afia Part I)

(Originally posted on August 25, 2008 on chowraha)

May it be economic situation, political dilemmas or the sad reality of a hegemonic world, there are countries surrendering their innocent citizens to the global power so they could win favors in return. Caught in between these power-based bargains are families of men and women, and in this case even three young children.

Dr. Afia has been ‘lost‘ for five years from the face of earth as far as her family, friends, sympathisers and the general public is concerned. In the last month, after hundreds and thousands of people protesting across the globe, and human rights organizations taking up the cause there are some talks about the mother who was kidnapped by FBI and Pakistani Intelligence along with her three children.

Dr. Afia Siddiqui, an MIT grad with a PhD in neurology, decided to return to Pakistan with her children in 2002 after living in the United States for over a decade. Her uncle in a letter that recently appeared in reputable Pakistani newspaper “Dawn” recollects “Having failed to get a suitable job, she again visited the U.S. on a valid visa in February 2003 to search for a job and to submit an application to the U.S.

immigration authorities. She moved there freely and came back to Karachi by the end of February 2003 after renting a post office box in her name in Maryland for the receipt of her mail.”

In March 2003, on her way to the airport in order to fly to Rawalpindi from Karachi, she was kidnapped by intelligence along with her children aged between three and a half months and seven years. The FBI, on the other hand, has been claiming since Dr. Afia’s story has made surface that the post box was hired for an alleged Al-Qaeda member named Majid Khan (Newsweek International, June 23, 2003). In the same Newsweek article, authored by eight journalists, it is said that Dr. Afia Siddiqui is arrested. Despite this mini research paper published in Newsweek, the Interior Ministry in Pakistan at the time claimed that Dr. Afia Siddiqui had not been arrested. There are claims by the victim’s family, that unidentifiable men visited their home during the same time warning them against speaking up about their daughter who was safe in their custody.

As Pakistan celebrated its independence this August, Dr. Afia Siddiqui and her three children could only wish for the word “freedom.” The silence on her story has been shattered successfully only to reveal bitter truths about the case. FBI has indeed accepted arresting Dr. Afia announcing only as little as “Dr. Afia Siddiqui is alive, she is in Afghanistan but she is injured.” They have absolutely nothing to say about her children, the eldest being 12 year old now, who were unlawfully abducted with their mother.

Moazzam Beg, a Guantanamo released-prisoner from Great Britain, in his book called the Enemy Combatant mentions a certain Prisoner 650. She happens to be the only female prisoner in Bagram, one of the most traumatic jails next to Guantanamo for the prisoners of “War on Terror.” Other prisoners from Guantanamo, who had been through Bagram, admit to hearing the screams of the same woman. One even claimed to seeing her.

Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist who was kidnapped by the Taliban and later turned to Islam after her release, believes that Prisoner 650 may be Dr. Afia Siddiqui. She calls her the Grey Lady. In a press conference on July 6, 2008 Ridley, said “I call her the ‘grey lady’ because she is almost a ghost, a spectre whose cries and screams continues to haunt those who heard her,” Ms Ridley said at a press conference.

The Grey Lady has lost her mental state of mind. She is being made to share the same cell as her male counterparts, having been constantly inducted to mental torture of having to use the toilet in public, perhaps even being raped by the soldiers (according to several articles written on her abduction).

It is indeed a pitiful moment for Pakistanis, human rights activists, sympathizers of humanity across the world - An intelligent young woman, a mother of three absolutely innocent children losing her sanity by the hand of barbaric torture. What is more pitiful is the relative silence still – the Western world and media dominated by the likes, reveals little of the sad story. Whether she is an innocent mother of three or the most dangerous terrorist threatening world security, Dr. Afia does not deserve the kind of imprisonment she is going through. It is clear that the responsibility of her condition lies solely on the FBI and the Pakistani Agencies handing her over to FBI with her children. What is also clearer is that today’s world can only be improved with the power of the public’s voices combined. With nothing clear on the charges behind her, her illegal detention, the family and public being unaware of her conditions for five years, and the torture this Prisoner 650 is going through being caught incommunicado in a jail for men, the little she deserves is our voices calling for justice.