Aafia Siddiqui's Lawyer questions "officials" (See also Special Event with Moazzam Begg)

Aafia Siddiqui Claims She Was Held By The US in Bagram For Years. Cageprisoners has received new information that Aafia Siddiqui was held for years in Bagram Airbase.

Find this for August 8, 2008 at Cageprisoners dot com

According to her lawyer, Elaine Whitfield Sharp,

“We do know she was at Bagram for a long time. It was a long time. According to my client she was there for years and she was held in American custody; her treatment was horrendous.”

Siddiqui’s claim is contrary to the heavily contested position of the US administration that she was detained in July by Afghan forces while attempting to bomb the compound of the governor of Ghazni. The US has previously denied the presence of female detainees in Bagram and that Aafia was ever held there, bar for medical treatment in July 2008.

Sharp also commented about Siddiqui’s current condition and in particular the gunshot wound she has received. Not having been given proper medical treatment for the wound, there is a real concern that it will become infected as it is believed to be septic. She is extremely weak and had to be wheeled into her legal visit.

Legal visits have also become a problem for Sharp and her client. They were only allowed to meet with Siddiqui in a cell behind glass with bars and their only method of communication was through the slot in the door used for food. Sharp was forced to bend over for the several hours of their meeting in order to listen and speak through the food slot. This resulted in extreme difficult for lawyer and client as they attempted to speak to one another. Sharp further commented,

“In that open situation, we were forced to keep our voices low as we were aware that we were video and tape recorded. The whole situation made it impossible for me to meet properly with my client.”

Of great concern to Cageprisoners is the detention of Ahmed, the twelve-year-old son of Siddiqui who is still being detained in Afghanistan , alone and away from his mother, despite his status as a US citizen. It is imperative that the US place him in the custody of his relatives.

Related: Go to Cageprisoners dot com (to find out more about Cageprisoners see also Reprieve and Clyde Stafford Smith (who has an amazing record of success with his work with US justice/Innocence issues and death penalty clients). Suggestion: sign up for free email to get alerts as they come in from Cageprisoners dot com and find other related items such as these below on Aafia Siddiqui and her children):

* ‘Sham’ Story By US Attempts To Cover-Up Aafia Siddiqui’s Unlawful Detention
* Aafia: Victim of FBI Lies and Deceit - Yvonne Ridley
* Cageprisoners Demand Answers on Siddiqui Custody
* Afghans Suspected Siddiqui of a Suicide Plot
* Wounded Pakistani Woman Faces US Judge
* Aafia's Family Receiving Threats
* Pakistan Demands Access To Al Qaeda Suspect in U.S.
* Pakistan Islamist Leader Condemns "Harassment" of Scientist's Family
* RCP Appeals For Dr Afia’s Release
* Aafia Siddiqui Extradited To US, Accused of Shooting At US Officers
* Aafia Siddiqui Alive, in Custody

Events Go to website for Cageprisoners dot com for more information including dates

Enemy Combatant - An Evening with Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg is one of nine British citizens who were held in Guantánamo Bay by the government of the United States of America. Moazzam will be joined by Victoria Brittain, former associate foreign editor of the Guardian. She is co-author of Moazzam's book Enemy Combatant, and with Gillian Slovo, compiled the play Guantánamo.

Protest Against Internment in 2008
éirígí is to publicly mark the 37th anniversary of the introduction of internment in the Six Counties by highlighting the reality of de-facto internment in the Ireland of 2008. The Dublin city demonstration will take place outside the British Embassy, Merrion Road, Dublin 4 at 3pm on August 9.

Urgent Appeal: Aafia Siddiqui Remains Missing With Her Three Children Five Years After Arrest. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Dr. Afia Siddiqui, was arrested along with her three children by a Pakistani intelligence agency in early 2003 and has been missing since then.